Avalon Keep
by Caroline L'Amoure
Summary: Pheona is a young magi with a dark past- after finding out about a sinister plot infecting the lands, she vows to find out who is behind it, and stop them. She and her trusty light unicorn Lir travel the land to search for a solution to this dire problem.
1. Chapter 1 The Keep

Pheona walked through the forest, a Jerboa rat sitting happily on her shoulder as she walked. She occasionally reached up to scratch the small creature between the ears, which squeaked happily.  
"Just a little further, Remmy." The girl said, moving her black hair from her face as the wind suddenly picked up, blowing the trees around her. She held the pouch slung across her shoulder tighter to her side, making sure the egg inside was secured and safe. Her keep was named Avalon Thicket- named after her favorite mythological land. She turned through a thick brush to a large light unicorn grazing in a clearing. At the sight of the girl the unicorn whickered happily and trotted over, sniffing her pouch curiously.  
"Hello, Lir. Yes, it's a new egg from the stream. Did you want to take a look?" Pheona reached inside the pouch and pulled out a shining white egg, red scales glittering over its surface. "I can't wait too long though- if it hatches while it's not in water, we'll have a problem." She smiled, walking with the unicorn to her side to a pond in the middle of a larger clearing, three other eggs resting within the shallow water.  
"How is the new capricorn doing?" Pheona looked over to the Naga Alabast, who was so graciously helping watch over her eggs while she had traveled to the stream.  
"It is hatching within the hour. The first cracks started to form shortly after you left." The Naga looked up at her, its ice blue eyes amused at her sudden excitement at the news. "You always enjoy a hatching, don't you Pheona?"  
"Of course- it's always exciting, regardless of how many capricorns I've hatched." She smiled as the egg wobbled within the water slightly, a small squeak came from within the shell as a small nose poked through. This Capricorn was special- one of the Darksea line, but in a rarer meridian color for the lineage. The Capricorn finally forced itself out, plopping out into the water outside the shell, looking around in confusion. Phoena reached down carefully and picked up the Capricorn, which squeaked happily in her hands, a small trill coming from it as it waved its fish-like tail around.  
"That looks like an energetic one." The Naga smiled, turning and slithering back toward one of the Emerald Wyverns at the other end of the clearing.  
Pheona looked down at the Capricorn in her hands, setting the hatchling down into the water to play with the other hatchlings further into the pond. Remmy squeaked on her shoulder, running down her arm and climbing down her dress to tackle a small female Jerboa rat waiting for him on the ground. Pheona stood with a sigh, stretching from her long walk.  
"Pheona!" A voice yelled from behind her, and Pheona turned around to see her friend Marina running toward her, finally stopping in front of her, gasping for breath. Pheona waited for her friend to catch her breath, hardly able to contain herself- when Marina was in a hurry, it meant there was big news.  
"Look what I got!" Marina pulled a large egg out of the pouch at her side, a small gray-blue egg with a large gem on it.  
"Is that what I think it is?" Pheona yelled excitedly, making Alabast look up in curiosity.  
"It sure is- Master Belmos told me to give you this one." Marina pulled another out of her pouch, handing a shining blue egg to Pheona. It was remarkable heavy compared to most eggs, and as she set it down into the pond with the other eggs, it sank slightly into the silt at the bottom.  
Alabast slithered over to the pond, examining the new egg with unusual interest.  
"I have not seen a blue crystalwing before, I wonder what this means? I suppose it is a newly discovered egg from the caves." Alabast said thoughtfully, examining the egg curiously before turning back toward his previous business.  
Pheona and Marina looked up as a large phoenix flew down, a small leather canister strapped to one of its feet. It held out its foot for Pheona to untie the canister, opening it to find a small paper inside.  
"It's from the city." Pheona said in surprise, Marina leaning over her shoulder to read as well  
'Pheona, we have need of your assistance in Synara City. Please come to the fifth merchant lot in the city to get further details.  
- Conintor Tyrna'  
"I wonder what he wants?" Marina asked curiously after she finished reading the note.  
"I have no idea- but Conintor is a merchant who's pretty capable of taking care of things. If he needs help, it must be pretty bad." Pheona sighed. "Looks like it's time for a road trip."  
"I need to head back to the coast- you'll have to do this one on your own." Marina smiled.  
"No problem, Marina. Thanks for bringing my egg." Pheona looked down at the large blue egg, scooping it up and setting it into the pouch at her side. It was much heavier than normal eggs, so made her lean slightly to the side. She definitely would not want to walk like this.  
"Lir?" Pheona called out to the unicorn, who looked up after grazing next to his mate, the dark unicorn Amalthea. Lir trotted over gracefully, whickering curiously.  
"I was wondering if you would let me ride you to Synara City? We're going to see Conintor. There will be a nice juicy apple from the markets in it for you."  
Lir whinnied happily, snorting and nodding his head in eager agreement.  
"Thank you, Lir." Pheona said, climbing up onto Lir's back, carefully keeping the egg close to her side as she held onto Lir's mane when he started galloping out of the forest, following the road east toward the city.


	2. Chapter 2 Trouble Brewing

Pheona rode into Synara, people staring at her light unicorn as she rode in. She was never used to the looks- light unicorns were rare and not often seen, so everyone seemed to watch as she passed by. It's why she usually stayed in Avalon.  
Lir whickered uneasily at the stares, shaking his head nervously. Pheona patted the stallion's neck reassuringly, finally reaching a large shop with a sign reading 'Conintor's Creatures'. She rode around the large wooden building to a stable in the back. A large rotund man stood, brushing the fur of a large female white elk. He turned toward Pheona, looking immensely relieved.  
"I'm glad to see you, Pheona. I was hoping you could help me, but we have to keep this quiet. You can have Lir stay with Tromper here." Conintor patted the elk's flank, who eyes Lir with interest. Lir eyed her warily, staying at the other end of the stable from the Elk as Pheona and Conintor walked toward the back of the stables, elk and ibex lining the stalls on either side of them.  
"So what seems to be the problem, Con?" Pheona asked as a soft wheezing sound started sounding from the last stall in the stable. Conintor opened the heavy stable door to reveal a large male frost unicorn laying in the freshly changed hay, looking up at them with cloudy eyes. Pheona gasped at the sight, wondering what could be wrong with the unicorn. Usually they were hardy creatures that didn't need much human care at all.  
"Someone brought him in yesterday. They said they had found him like this in the forest- just lying there. Tied a rope on the poor fella and brought him in to me. I tried figuring out what's wrong with him, but he seems to be in perfect health except for…" Conintor motioned to the unicorn's labored breathing and heavy lidded eyes.  
"I see." Pheona walked cautiously into the stable, leaning down to look more closely at the creature. The unicorn made no motion to avoid her, which just made her all the more worried.  
"Lir, could you come here, please?" Pheona looked up as Lir walked toward the stable, standing over her curiously. He leaned down and sniffed the unicorn, rearing his head back with wide eyes. He looked down at the unicorn again and whickered softly. The unicorn whickered back, twirling his horn in a circle before moving it abruptly to the side.  
Lir backed up quickly, looking out toward the forest with his golden eyes.  
"What's wrong?" Pheona looked up at Lir's sudden seriousness.  
"I've always wondered how unicorns communicated." Conintor said in interest after watching them. "Perhaps we should let Lir show us what the matter is. He seems to have more of a grasp than either of us."  
"I agree." Pheona stood, looking over to Lir. "Do you know what's wrong, Lir?"  
Lir nodded his head once, still looking off into the distance, as if trying to see something through the stable walls.  
"Alright, I'll need to pick up Prism before we get into the forest too far." Pheona ran a hand through the unicorn's mane gently before standing back up. "We'd better get going, he's not doing well."  
"Good luck finding the problem, Pheona. I have a feeling this isn't the only unicorn in the forest feeling this way." Conintor looked down at the unicorn sadly, watching as Pheona walked out of the stable, a hand on Lir's neck to try and calm him.


	3. Chapter 3 Meeting Elly

Pheona rode into Avalon, dismounting from Lir and walking quickly over to a deeper part of her keep. She let out a soft whistle, and a huge number of puvia and cascara butterflies fluttered around her, some trying to land on her shoulders and arms as she outstretched them.  
"I need Prism- is he here?" Pheona asked, looking up as the energetic butterfly fluttered in front of her face, landing on her nose. He looked at her with his faceted eyes, somehow looking happy as his stained glass wings scattered rainbows over her face. "Hello Prism, I was wondering if you would like to go on a trip with me?" Pheona asked. She watched as he took off, flying in small circles in loops in his excitement.  
"Alright, we're going to find out what's wrong with the unicorns." Pheona said uneasily, still wondering what could have gotten such stable creatures to be so ill.  
"Something is wrong with the unicorns?" Alabast slithered over, holding the small Capricorn from earlier.  
"Yes, Conintor wanted to have me try and find out what's wrong. Lir would like to know too." Pheona glanced over to Lir, who was apparently discussing something with her dark unicorn (and his mate), Amalthea. She never understood how they conversed using head movements and hoof stomps, but it seemed to work because Amalthea suddenly looked stricken as well. Lir comforted her and trotted back over to Pheona, eager to get going.  
"I'm picking up Prism and going again. Sorry to have you keep care of the whole Keep like this, Alabast." Pheona looked sheepishly up to the Naga, who shrugged.  
"I am glad to be of help if you are helping such rare creatures. Just be careful." The naga looked up with an uncharacteristically concerned expression.  
"I will, don't worry. Lir wouldn't let me get hurt." Pheona set a hand on the unicorns neck, the stallion snorting proudly in agreement. He bent slightly to allow her to mount easily, Prism settled on her shoulder, fanning his wings in the slight breeze. Lir took off toward the forest where this had started, looking determined.  
Pheona ran a hand down the unicorns neck as she leaned down against his back, wondering why he was galloping so hard. Normally they would take a relaxed pace, but Lir seemed worried he would miss something unless they hurried toward their destination. For such a normally laid back unicorn, it was strange seeing him so determined to hurry. She looked down at Prism lying on the unicorn's neck beneath her, unable to hang onto her shoulder while he galloped so quickly. His small wings flittered with unease at the situation as well, as if knowing that Pheona was feeling. She looked up at a large rumbling noise in the distance, Lir slowing down to a trot at the familiar noise. "Is that John?" Pheona looked around toward the water, but only seeing a speck in the distance until it grew larger as he swam through the water, large waves coming from either side of the leviathan. Definitely John.

Pheona looked down at Lir, whose nostrils were flaring with his heavy breathing from panting so hard. "Let's take a rest and see what Elly's doing all the way over here." She said to the unicorn before dismounting as Elly came to shore, John letting her dismount as well.  
"Elly!" Pheona said excitedly, glad to see a friend after such a chaotic day.  
"Hi, Phoe." Elly said, her wetsuit shining from her recent travels. "What are you doing out here?"  
Pheona looked over to John, who was watching from the shore. She waved to the leviathan, who didn't look too impressed with Lir standing there staring back. She hoped they wouldn't get into one of their 'who's the more macho creature' contests again…  
"The unicorns are all upset. Something is terribly wrong, something awful happening throughout the realm." She set a hand on Lir's neck, trying to calm him down and feeling him relax under her palm.  
"Uh oh. I just came from Cynus' Keep, and..." Elly started.  
"The Tree?" Her eyes widened as she glanced up at the sun to see the time. "This early? Or was it late?" She tried not to grin.  
"Not you too." Elly sighed, running a palm over her face with a weary expression. Obviously she had been through this kind of thing earlier.  
"He's a nice guy." Pheona shrugged. "What's your problem with him?" Other than that the man was a hopeless flirt- but that was a given, in this case. That was just how Cynus was…though he did have a certain thing for Elly…  
"Nothing," Elly admitted. "It's just that he's been my friend since my folks saw I had powers. We're too close, if that makes any sense. Listen, Phoe, I know what's wrong. The creatures are dying. Th - there's been poaching."  
Pheona tried to stop the sudden lurch in her stomach at the thought of what she was saying. "Oh no." She whispered, glancing to Lir, whose golden eyes were wide and wild as he stomped at the ground angrily. Pheona turned to set her palms against his neck, a sign between them to calm down and save his energy for a better cause. She turned back to Elly, trying not to feel sick. "Proof?" She asked, hoping that it was just a rumor.  
"Cee has it. I saw some of it." Elly's voice tinged with horror. "It was terrible."  
"We have to do something!" Pheona said, her anger rising at what might be happening in the forests her forests! What if the poachers decided to come hunt near her keep? She dreaded the thought of her beloved creatures falling prey to such horror, not to mention any other creatures in the forest.  
"Well, Cynus and I are planning on contacting the Dark Brotherhood." Elly whispered the last part, as if not wanting to say her plan too loudly. "Well, or at least have them contact us."  
"How are you going to manage to do that?" Pheona looked at her warily, wondering what she was up to.  
"You believe in the Dark Brotherhood?" Elly looked up in surprise. "Most people don't."  
Pheona frowned, looking down at the ground uneasily. "I know of it because my cousin joined them. I can… try to contact him if I need to." She said, not wanting to contact him ever again. The man had tried to steal one of her Noctis Enox to bring to the society. Since she had caught him sneaking into her Keep, she had never talked to him again.  
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Elly said, surprised to hear something of Pheona's family. She normally didn't speak of them. "Cynus and I… have something planned. I apparently am stubborn enough that people will believe I'll be angry if I can't… bear a child. So we're planning on letting them contact me as a disgruntled woman." Elly blushed slightly, remembering last night's discussion with him.  
Pheona couldn't help but smile slightly, but let out a small screech when she was sprayed with water by an impatient John. She quickly looked over to Prism, knowing water was very bad for Cascara butterflies, but the small creature had fluttered easily above the water's reach. Lir however, had not been so lucky. The unicorn stood blinking in shock at the sudden drench, casting a glare over to John.  
"Alright, Alright." Elly walked back over to John, using his fin to mount back onto his neck. "Now you can help noise the rumors around about how I ...feel." Elly's voice hitched on the last part, as if unsure of what to think of it. Pheona waved to John, who craned his neck politely in a farewell before turning around and swimming away. She grinned as she watched the leviathan swim off, amused at the plan Cynus had come up for Elly. It was obvious he had come up with it- Elly would never even think to try something along those lines. She remembered the news of the poaching, and her smile quickly faded, as she turned back toward Lir, who shook out his golden mane with a frustrated snort.  
"It'll keep you cooler, at least." Pheona said comfortingly, mounting back up onto him. "We should probably to talk to Conintor about this if you're up for the run?" Pheona looked down at the unicorn, who nodded quickly in agreement. Pheona had barely settled down with Prism before Lir ran forward into a gallop, heading back toward Synara. As Lir galloped, Pheona wondered how she would try and contact her cousin. Not that she wanted to, but in this case his contact may save thousands of creatures as they hunted these poachers down.


	4. Chapter 4 Relatives

Pheona rode back through Synara City, really getting some stares this time- the same unicorn twice in so short a time? It was unheard of. Lir took her quickly to Conintor's stables, letting Pheona dismount before trotting over to the unicorn, trying to ignore the elk's suggestive look as he passed her.  
"Hello again, Pheona. I don't see you this often, usually." Conintor said curiously.  
"I was wondering if you could take care of Lir for a while for me?" Pheona said uneasily, trying not to wince at Lir's snort of shocked disapproval behind her.  
"Sure, lass. Any particular reason?" Conintor said, starting to get concerned. Pheona and Lir were usually inseperable.  
"I'm… going to see my cousin." Pheona said through gritted teeth. Lir's protest got louder, the unicorn stomping a hoof before taking her robe's sleve into his mouth to keep her there.  
"Quit being such a minicorn, Lir." Pheona said in annoyance as she tried to pry her sleeve from his mouth without ripping it.  
"Looks like he has the same thought I do. You know what happened the last time you got messed with that lot." Conintor said accusingly, making Pheona blush.  
"I only set a few people on fire… and they weren't even hurt too much…" she muttered under her breath.  
"You seriously think they'll let you in again after that?"  
"They will." Pheona growled. "I _will_ know what's happening."  
Conintor sighed, knowing he wouldn't change her mind once it was made.  
"Just be careful, eh? You're a nice girl, despite your short fuse."  
Pheona smiled and nodded, wlaking out of the stable as Lir whickered in worry behind her.

Pheona walked up to the large black painted building at the end of the street, the path toward it empty of all people despite the crowd around it. The guard looked at her uneasily, shifting at his post.  
"I can't allow you in, and you know that." He said uneasily, bringing a hand up to rub his balding hair.  
"You will let me in- I'm here to see Rynu." Pheona hissed the name out, still not liking the idea of seeing him again.  
"No, you're not." The guard said, looking uneasy.  
"Let me through, or I'll set your hair on fire again." Pheona said through gritted teeth, her red eyes glowing as she brought up a hand.  
"Ah… um… alright! Alright, you can go in- but we don't want any trouble, got it?" The man stammered in shock, letting Pheona through and opening the door for her.  
The inside of the building made her skin crawl. There were very few lights- most of the light coming into the building was through small slit-like windows along the walls. There were baskets on a table in the middle of the room, a man twirling one carelessly in his hand as he looked up and saw her, his eyes widening in recognition.  
"Who let you in?" He yelled, making everyone else in the building look up as well.  
"I'll admit to threatening him. I'm looking for my cousin, Rynu." Pheona said, noticing everyone turning in a particular direction.  
The man in the corner stiffened, turning around slowly with a smile. "H-hey there, cous. What's the occasion?" He said, the dark basilisk lying around his neck hissing in annoyance at her.  
"Let's take this outside, Rynu. I don't want to cause any trouble to anyone." Pheona eyed the others, who all glared at Rynu at the memory of the last time his cousin had visited.  
"Alright." He said uneasily, walking out of the building. Pheona following. She closed the door behind them, the guard watching her warily as they passed before they got into the street.  
"What do you want? I haven't done anything to you." Rynu growled at her when they got far away enough from the guard to talk privately.  
"No? Something's going on Rynu- and you're going to tell me if you're part of it. Have you no heart whatsoever, or is too shriveled up to care anymore?" Pheona yelled back.  
"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't done anything!"  
Pheona scoffed in disbelief. "Oh, so the Brotherhood hasn't been doing _anything_ in the forest recently, the unicorns are getting sick for _no reason?_" Pheona hissed angrily.  
"Wait- what?" Rynu blinked in confusion. "They're sick?"  
"Yes- and I found out someone's been poaching in the forests. Killing creatures for their parts? What the hell are you thinking?"  
"I had nothing to do with this! I would never do something like that." Rynu said defensively, the dark basilisk around his neck coiling around his shoulder protectively, its blindfold preventing it from turning anything into stone.  
Pheona sighed, knowing if his basilisk Medusa was starting to protest, then he was telling the truth. "Alright, but if they're doing something like this, you may be in trouble if you're associated with them. Don't you think it's a bad idea to be in the Brotherhood anymore?"  
Rynu looked to the ground with uneasy green eyes. "Well… you see, that's a problem. I'm sort of stuck."  
"Stuck?" Pheona said warily. "How can you be 'stuck' in a society?"  
Rynu sighed, his black curly hair falling over his eyes before he raised the sleeve of his black robe up to reveal a large tattoo of a black serpent curling around his upper arm.  
Pheona stared at the tattoo for a minute before sighing. "You're way in over your head, aren't you?"  
Rynu quickly covered the tattoo back up, looking back up at her guiltily. "You were right."  
Pheona sighed, looking at her little cousin with concern. "Do you want to come with me and find out what your little club is up to?"  
Rynu looked back at the building and nodded slowly. "I don't think I can go back in there again. They were about ready to kick me out anyway, since… I'm your cousin."  
"You'll be fine. We'll figure this out." Pheona said thoughtfully. "Though you'd best not talk to Lir for a bit- I think he's still annoyed at Medusa for biting him."  
The dark basilisk hissed in laughter as they walked back toward the stables.


	5. Chapter 5 Journey

Rynu walked into Conintor's stables, ignoring the man's glare. Pheona led him to the back of the stable, Medusa hissing loudly at Lir as she passed him, the unicorn whinnying in anger at the sight of Rynu and the basilisk.  
"It's okay, Lir. He's coming with us." Pheona said, looking down at the unicorn in the stable in concern. I was still breathing heavily, lying on the hay as if it were too tired to move.  
"It doesn't look good, does it?" Rynu said uneasily, looking down at the unicorn as well. Lir let out an indignant snort, at the man, blowing his black hair with his breath.  
"Where will we go to try and fix this? I don't even know where to start." Rynu sighed.  
"Neither do I. First I think we should have a look at this… proof. I don't really want to buy Cynus, so… we'll have to find some another way. Do you think you could use your… mark, to try and get some?"  
Rynu looked at her skeptically. "First you think the Brotherhood is evil, and now you're using it to your advantage?"  
Pheona shrugged. "Sure, as long as the advantage leads to creatures getting saved. Besides, what else are we going to do?"  
Rynu thought for a minute, before his shoulder sagged in defeat, making Medusa hiss. "Fine, you're right. I don't like that idea, though."  
"I didn't think you would. Do you have any creatures other than Medusa?" Pheona asked, hoping he wouldn't have to ride Lir- she knew the unicorn would probably buck him right back off.  
"Yeah, a few. I can ride Yin." Rynu nodded, following her train of thought.  
Pheona tilted her head in confusion, but decided not to ask more into it until he got to the creature. "Alright, let's get going then. Thank you for looking after Lir, Conintor." Pheona smiled at the older man, who smiled back.  
"It was no problem, Pheona. Be careful in this- and let me know if you need anything else."

Rynu walked a ways into the forest, looking up at the tree tops before letting out a loud whistle. A noctis enox flew out of the trees, landing in front of him and letting out a strange two-toned growl/whinny. Pheona looked at Rynu accusingly, knowing that the last time he had tried to get a noctis enox, he had tried to steal one from her keep.  
"What? I raised Yin myself. I even worked for a couple months to get the money to buy him." Rynu turned toward the enox, setting his palm on the enox's nose, which made the creature growl low in answer. Lir watched the creature warily, but began to relax when he saw Rynu's care for it.  
"Okay, I believe you. I was thinking we should head toward Silva Forest." Pheona said, mounting Lir and setting Prism down on his neck in front of her.  
"Through the mountains? Alright." Rynu shrugged, grabbing onto one of the enox's horns to hoist himself up on the creature's back. Yin paced a bit to get used to the new wait, and stood patiently.  
"I'm thinking we'll find more there than we will here. This place is too exposed- poachers wouldn't hunt here as much as they would in Silva."  
Rynu nodded in agreement, leading Yin to follow Lir into the woods.

Rynu and Pheona started heading north to Arkene, following the river to take the easiest path through the mountains.  
"I'm not looking forward to the hold." Rynu grumbled as he thought of the snow they would be trudging through.  
"I can warm us up if we need it. I'm more worried about the people in the mountains." Pheona said uneasily, looking down as Prism fluttered quickly on Lir's neck. Pheona picked the butterfly up gently in her palm, setting him on her shoulder to listen before nodding in understanding.  
"Apparently the pass we're taking has a sorcerer that likes to play pranks. We'd best keep an eye out for him as we go through." Pheona said, as the butterfly fluttered into the air in agreement, landing on the top of Pheona's head.  
Rynu blinked in shock. "The butterfly told you that?"  
Pheona nodded, holding up a finger so Prism could flutter down and land on it, fanning his wings idly. "I got him from an old teacher, who had traveled his entire life. At some point in in the travels Prism got the ability to speak, and has helped me out ever since. He's been… well, where haven't you been?" Pheona looked down at the butterfly, which flapped its wings quickly in laughter.  
"No wonder you've never had any troubles traveling." Rynu rolled his eyes.  
"Oh, I have. I just have Lir and Prism to help me out." Pheona patted Lir's neck, who snorted proudly.  
"Well either way, I have a feeling this won't be an easy trip."  
"Does it matter? We're saving countless creatures."  
Rynu nodded, looking into the distance uneasily.


	6. Chapter 6 Cursed

Arkene was as expected- cold, wet and empty. The few people who were walking the streets were bundled in layers of fur.  
"See? I can't stand this cold!" Rynu said, grinding his teeth to stop them from chattering. His basilisk draped sleepily around his neck, the cold making her drowsy.  
Pheona looked up ins surprise as an Amarth Alagos flew toward them. It landed on the branch of a leafless tree near them, holding out its leg, which had a small envelope tied to it.  
Rynu blanched at the sight of the bird, watching it with wide eyes and backing up slightly away from it.  
Wondering who the message was from, Pheona led Lir close to the bird, reaching up and untying the paper. She looked down at the wax seal of a black serpent and glanced at Rynu before trying to break the seal to open it. It glowed a deep blue aura, staying shut as the Alagos cackled from the tree, pointing its beak at Rynu.  
Pheona looked at the envelope uneasily and handed it over to Rynu, who easily broke the seal to read it.  
"Betrayal will not be tolerated within the Brotherhood." Rynu read aloud, his voice wavering. "I hope with this, you will learn your lesson." Rynu finished, yelling in shock when the envelope burst into flames, burning his palm. The Alagos laughed and flew away, cackling into the sky as it flew back toward the south.  
"Quick, let me see." Pheona rushed over to Rynu, taking his hand and looking at his palm. There was a symbol scarred into his hand, an intricate series of swirls and lines, surrounding a charred circle in the center of his palm.  
"This is very bad. That's a very strong curse." Pheona muttered.  
Rynu blanched, holding onto his hand protectively. "What does it mean?"  
"It's a mixture of suffering and unfortune symbols. I can't undo it, only the creator of the curse can."  
Rynu swore loudly, looking down at his palm in dismay. "There's no way Demetre will ever undo it. Now what am I supposed to do?"  
Pheona stayed silent for a minute, not knowing the answer. "The only thing we can do is keep going." She said finally, starting to move toward the mountains again. Rynu looked down at his hand before following, the basilisk around his neck hissing to comfort him.

Pheona rode into the mountain pass behing Rynu, attempting every spell she could remember to counter the curse. She wrote intricate symbols in the air, all of them fading with a fizzle.  
"Sorry, that's all I can remember." She said sadly, knowing none of them had worked.  
"That's fine, thanks for trying." Rynu said, his tone flat. His back was hunched in depression, as if not caring what happened anymore.  
Pheona watched in surprise as Prism fluttered over, landing on his shoulder. He sat up in surprise, looking down at the butterfly as it whispered to him. Finally he smiled, and the butterfly flew back over to Pheona, sitting on her shoulder happily.  
"You're so nice. Thanks for cheering him up." Pheona whispered to the butterfly, who flapped his wings. She looked up at the setting sun knowing that this far up north, once the sun started setting the night would come quickly. "We should probably find a place to sleep for the night."  
"Alright." Rynu said, looking around. "Looks like there's some caves."  
"We'll have to find one a dragon isn't living in." Pheona said idly, making Rynu stop in his tracks and look back at her in shock.  
"Dragons?" He muttered.  
"Well, yeah. They're all over the mountains." Pheona dismounted and walked over to a cave, making her hand glow with her red magic. Prism fluttered off her shoulder, flying into the cave, the red magic reflecting off the butterfly's wings as rainbows on the walls as he went deeper into the cave. After a few minutes he came back, flipping in the air a few times before whispering to her. Pheona nodded, holding up her hand for him to land on.  
"Looks like it's safe. Let's stay here then, and try and keep warm." She looked down at a pile of Ibex bones in the corner of the cave, shivering at the thought of a dragon attacking them. They wouldn't have a chance.  
"Alright, let's try and make a fire." Rynu sighed, starting to search the cave. He found a few sticks, bringing them back over to Pheona, who held her hand above them, lighting the timber on fire.  
"Are you doing okay?" she looked up at Rynu, who sighed and nodded. He sat on the cave floor, letting Medusa slither down his chest to coil in his lap happily at the warmth.  
"What are we going to do once we find proof? It's not like we can go up to Demetre and say 'hey, stop it'. He'll just kill us." Rynu said, looking down at Medusa as she hissed happily.  
"Honestly? I hadn't really figured that out yet" Pheona sighed. "A friend told me she saw proof- I need to see some for myself before I do anything else." She looked out the entrance of the cave, hearing a fox sniffing around the entrance. "I'll figure something out."


	7. Chapter 7 Prankster

Pheona woke to a strange laughter echoing through the cave, the tingling sensation of strong magic being cast waking her up fully with a yell of shock. She quickly formed a ward in the air in front of her, only able to surround herself as well as Prism before a bright golden flash suddenly lit up the cave. The sheer force of the spell sent Pheona tumbling toward the back wall, hitting her head on a rock before blacking out.

"Hey- wake up." A strange voice said, making Pheona groan in pain. "Are you alright?" The voice said, sounding concerned. It was deep and rich, sounding somehow familiar, but foreign.  
"I think so." Pheona said, keeping her eyes closed as she rubbed her head- a small smear of blood covering her palm.  
"W-wait. You can hear me?" The man said in shock, continued by a yell of horror. Pheona opened her eyes to see a handsome man with pale skin and golden hair looking down at himself in absolute shock, staring at his hands as he flexed his fingers. "What the hell happened? How am I a human?"  
Pheona blushed, realizing the man was completely naked as he sat in front of her, looking absolutely terrified. "And… you are…?" Pheona asked, looking automatically for Lir for backup… but saw that he was gone.  
"What do you mean? You should know who I am- who else would have hair like this?" Lir grabbed fistfuls of his metallic golden hair, his golden eyes wide. "How did this happen? Did you cast a spell or something?"  
Pheona almost choked with shock at the sight of her unicorn turning into a human. The description fit- his white fur had turned into pale white skin, a small golden star on his head where his horn would be. "No, I didn't cast anything! Where's Rynu, is he alright?" Pheona looked past Lir, seeing that Rynu had also vanished.  
"What would I care? _I'm a human!" _Lir shouted. "If Althea finds out about this, she'll freak!" Lir said, looking stricken. "Or go with that damn stallion from the forest! Change me back!" Lir grabbed Pheona by the shoulders.  
"I can't! I'm sorry, but this magic is way more powerful than I can do." Pheona said, not liking to see Lir so upset.  
Lir let go of her, his eyes wide. "Then I'm stuck like this?" he asked sadly.  
"Until we find out what's going on, yes. I really am sorry." Pheona said softly. "We need to find Rynu though- if this happened to you, maybe it happened to him too."  
Lir looked over at the spot Rynu had been sleeping, seeing only discarded clothing. "Well wherever he is, I'm sure he's getting plenty of odd looks without his clothes."  
Pheona tried not to look at Lir's nakedness and blushed. "I'm sure." She muttered.  
Lir looked at her in confusion and looked down at himself, sighing in exasperation. "I suppose I should put something on." He said, crawling on his hands and knees over to Rynu's clothing, picking up his pants and yelling in shock when a hiss sounded from the clothes. The basilisk lying on a rock on the other side of the cave looked up in surprise, slithering over to the pile of clothing and tilting its head in confusion.  
"Found him." Lir said, holding up a black tienko, which was thrashing angrily in his grip, letting out yowls of protest. It swiped at Lir with its claws, making Lir drop the animal as he hissed in pain.  
The tienko stood on the ground, its green eyes wide as it stared at its paws before screeching in shock.  
"Rynu- calm down. We have to figure out how this happened." Pheona held her head, trying to stand but falling back against the cave wall as her head started spinning.  
"I don't think you should be standing." Lir said, trying to pull his other leg through the pair of pants. It was way too short- Lir's legs were apparently much longer than Rynu's. He stood, making a strange face at how uncomfortable the tight pants were. Prism landed on Pheona's shoulder, whispering to her before fluttering off toward Lir. The butterfly landed on the pale man's nose, staring at him with bug eyes before laughing as he flew off.  
"Laugh it up, you little twerp." Lir growled angrily. "This could have happened to you too, you know."  
"That was a quick ward spell you put up." A voice said from the entrance of the cave, making them all turn at the new voice. A blond haired man stood grinning in amusement. He wore a long blue and white ornately embroidered robe with fur along the edges, the hood pulled back so he could see them.  
"Are you the one that did this?" Lir yelled, attempting to stand but wobbling on his feet before falling back down.  
"Yep, and I'm quite proud for turning you human- you have no idea how hard it is to mess with a light unicorn- especially one as large as you. That took quite a bit of magic, you know." The man said, as if it had been an accomplishment for him.  
Lir bared his teeth at the man, letting out a string of harsh swear words, shocking Pheona. She had never known Lir was so easily flustered.  
"Hey hey now, you're supposed to be a unicorn. No need to get so hostile." The man's grin widened. "Imagine my shock at seeing two magi walking through my pass. It was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up."  
"Will you change them back?" Pheona asked, trying not to feel dizzy anymore.  
"Sorry, no can do. I'm out of magic, and it'll probably take a while to build it back up. Why are you out here, anyway?"  
"The balance is changing- we need to stop whoever is killing creatures." Lir said, trying to stand again and yelling in anger when he fell back down.  
The stranger blinked in surprise. "THE balance? How do you know this?"  
"It's the only thing that would make a frost unicorn die like that." Lir growled. "His mate was killed by a hunter in Silva forest. We have to get there to find them and stop them."  
"Wait- he's dying?" Pheona asked in horror. He had looked bad, but… she had hoped he wouldn't die.  
"He will unless we solve this problem quickly." Lir said, finally managing to balance on two feet. "How do you people manage to walk like this? It's like rearing with no hooves." He grumbled.  
The man stayed silent for a minute, looking thoughtful. "I'm coming with you."  
"What?" Pheona looked at him in shock. "No you won't- not after you did this." She hissed, Rynu hissing in protest as well.  
"You'll need me if they're killing frost unicorns. My name's Keisin. I'm the sorcerer in these mountains."  
"You're a sorcerer?" Pheona stared at him, her eyes wide. "Now you're definitely not coming with us."  
"Oh please." The man waved a hand in dismissal. "It's not like I'm evil or anything. Besides, with that knock to your head you guys aren't going anywhere."  
Pheona growled in frustration as her head started spinning again, sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the ground again. "Fine- but if you so much as make one bad move, I'll burn you alive."  
"I figured as much." The man rolled his eyes.


	8. Chapter 8 Acceptance

"This blizzard is starting to get pretty nasty." Keisin said uneasily, looking at the snow piling up at the mouth of the cave.  
Lir looked out at the snow, snorting in a horse-like manner of disgust. "It's not the snow I'm worried about." He looked back down at Pheona, who was lying on the cave floor, trying to rest as her head pounded. She had fallen asleep hours ago, and hadn't woken up yet.  
"I didn't mean for her to hit her head or anything. Your magic reacted badly to mine."Keisin sighed, looking down at the black tienko who watched him with angry green eyes. "Are you done staring at me?"  
The cat only growled angrily, his glare deepening with a hiss.  
Keisin looked uneasy, his bright eyes turning to the ground. "I guess I usually don't get to know people enough to know what my pranks do to them."  
Lir looked at the man in surprise. "Did you really expect them to not care? Especially when you do things like this." Lir looked down at his hand, flexing the strange fingers again before glancing back down to Pheona. "I'm just glad she didn't turn into a phoenix or something."  
Keisin nodded, glancing down to the woman as she groaned in pain, sitting up and rubbing her head. "Feeling better?" He asked cautiously.  
"No." Pheona said through clenched teeth. "I still feel like my heads going to explode."  
"I can heal you, but it would use up more magic." Keisin offered, looking to Lir, who sighed in dismay and waved him toward Pheona.  
"I would rather see her healed first." Lir muttered.  
Keisin nodded and kneeled next to Pheona, putting his hands on her scalp gently. She watched him warily, tensing at the touch.  
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you or anything." He said, sounding offended. He let his hands glow with a soft golden aura, Pheona's head almost immediately feeling better.  
Keisin looked over at Lir, noticing him fighting with the tienko again. "Why do you hate me?" Keisin asked Pheona quietly, hoping Lir wouldn't hear him.  
"Other than casting a spell on my friends?" Pheona grumbled.  
"Because I'm a sorcerer. Why is that so bad to you? I've noticed a lot of Magi feel that way."  
"Sorcerers have the potential to be very evil. My mother was killed by one." She said with a harsh tone, wanting to move away from him, but knowing he was trying to help her.  
Keisin stayed silent for a bit, taking his hands away and scooting back to give her room. "I'm sorry that happened." He said guiltily. "I've never met any other sorcerer other than my father, so I don't really know what they're like."  
"Your father was probably the sorcerer Prism met." Pheona muttered,to herself as Prism fluttered over to her, darting in front of her face in concern. The butterfly flew over to Keisin, pulling hair and fluttering in his face to make him sputter and back up more from Pheona. Prism flew back over to Pheona, landing on her shoulder.  
"Looks to be that way." Keisin said flatly, rubbing his nose to get the tickling sensation to stop.  
Pheona watched Lir hold Rynu away from him, the cat strugging against his grip to no avail. "I shouldn't judge you automatically like that." She said simply.  
Keisin shrugged, smirking wryly. "Honestly, I don't blame you for being wary of me. I didn't really help myself in that respect."  
Pheona looked at him with a flat expression and scoffed. "You've got that right. How long will it take you to get the magic back to change them?"  
Keisin thought for a minute and shrugged. "I didn't really mean to use that much magic, honestly. That unicorn is what did it. He's like some sort of magic sponge."  
"Well he is a light unicorn." Pheona snickered. "They're one of the most magic filled creatures in the world."  
"Are you talking about me?" Lir said from the other side of the cave over Rynu's yowls.  
"We're just saying how special you are, and how your magic overwhelmed him." Pheona said with a smile.  
"Oh, okay." Lir said with a grin and turned back to fighting Rynu.  
Keisin snickered, looking at Pheona in surprise. "Is he always like that?"  
"He's a light unicorn stallion. What were you expecting?" Pheona chuckled, but turned serious when she remembered what Keisin was. Her mind still couldn't wrap around the idea of getting along with a sorcerer.  
"Well, I'll go find us something to eat." Keisin stood, wiping down his blue and white robe. "I'll be back." He flipped up the furred hood of the robe, walking out into the blizzard outside the cave. 


	9. Chapter 9 Rynu's Secret

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lir looked over at Pheona as she held her head, looking at her palm but finally seeing no blood coming from her scalp.  
"I will be." Pheona said softly, looking over at him. "I should ask you the same question."  
Lir looked down at himself and sighed with a sad expression. "I'll be glad to be back to normal. I think Rynu is more upset than I am." Lir glanced over to the cat, who was lying on the cave floor in depression, his legs sprawled out. He meowed lowly, letting out a long sigh.  
"I am glad to be able to speak to you finally, though. Sometimes it's pretty frustrating not to be able to communicate." Lir smiled.  
"Yeah, I always wondered what you would say." Pheona shrugged. "Do you like being a unicorn, then?"  
Lir scoffed. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"  
Pheona couldn't help but laugh at his vanity, making him look at her in confusion.  
"I can't protect you as well in this form though. I don't like being so… helpless." Lir clenched his teeth together. "Especially when we have such an important mission to finish."  
Pheona nodded solemnly, looking up when someone walked back into the cave. Keisin grunted and dropped a snow covered pile on the ground, gasping to catch his breath from the trek.  
"Do you think you could start a fire?" He said, kneeling next to the carcass and took a knife out of the sheath at his belt. "Managed to find this doe out there- she was pretty bad off, so I figured I'd put her out of her misery." Keisin flipped the beast over as Pheona relit the few timbers Rynu had found the night before. The soft glow revealed the stark appearance of the animal, its ribs visible through stretched skin. It was obvious it had been starving to death.  
"Poor thing." Pheona said sadly, looking down at the animal. "Was it sick?"  
"No, I would have been able to tell if it was. It's been a hard winter for the animals in the mountains. A lot of them are going hungry this year."  
Pheona nodded, holding out her hands to the fire to warm them a bit, absorbing a bit of the fire's warmth into her body to replenish her fire magic a bit. The fire shrunk because of the absorbing and she let it build back up as Keisin wrapped some meat in a cloth and buried it beside the fire to cook in the hot ground.  
"So, you don't have any companion creatures, do you?" Pheona looked over to Keisin, who shrugged.  
"Not really. I don't see any need for them. They're just animals- no offense." Keisin looked over his shoulder at Lir, who snorted in annoyance.  
Pheona smiled softly. "They're more than that. You'll understand someday."  
Keisin rolled his eyes as he finished cutting the meat, wrapping the rest in a cloth and burying it next to the others. He sat back beside the fire, sighing in relief at sitting down on the warm ground.  
They sat in uneasy silence for a bit, none of them knowing what to talk about. A unicorn, a magi and a sorcerer didn't usually get together for a casual conversation.  
"So, what are you planning on doing once you find proof of what's going on?" Keisin glanced to Pheona, who sighed.  
"I don't know. Probably bring it to someone… but I don't know who, yet. I don't know if I should tell Master Belmos, I doubt he would be able to stop the Brotherhood. I might have to try and do it on my own."  
Rynu walked over to Pheona, shaking his head quickly in disagreement. His green eyes were wide as he meowed and hissed in frustration that he couldn't talk. Instead he walked over to her, put a small paw on her arm and shook his head again.  
"You don't think I can?" Pheona said sadly. Rynu shook his hand, shaking his head harder, his eyes looking up at her pleadingly.  
"Oh, you don't want me to." Pheona smiled softly. "For not talking to me for so long, you're pretty protective little cousin." Pheona rubbed his head playfully, making him look at her with a flat glare.  
"How does he know the Brotherhood? It looks like he has some sort of connection to them to be so afraid of getting messed up with them." Keisin looked over to Rynu in confusion, who only glared at him again.  
"He's in the Brotherhood. I don't think he wants to tell me what happened during all that time though." Pheona looked over to Rynu, whose ears lay flat against his head, his posture drooping sadly.


	10. Chapter 10 Paying Respect

Keisin looked out of the entrance of the cave, watching the snow pile up against the stones outside, some of the flakes flurrying in to land on the stone floor before melting from the heat of those inside. He glanced over at the others as they slept, the moon shining down on the cave, illuminating the entrance while keeping the cave itself dark. He took an amulet out from underneath his robe, holding it in his palm as he watched the snow fall.  
He had always lived in the mountains his entire life- leaving both excited him and made him nervous. He looked down at the tarnished gold of the sapphire amulet, the blue stone glinting against his skin. He remembered the day he had gotten this necklace- on a night similar to this one…  
Pheona rustled against the ground, waking up groggily as a loud growl sounded from another mountain as a dragon took to the sky to find another meal. She sat up, noticing Keisin looking at a necklace that hung around his neck. He saw her awake and quickly tucked it back under the fur rim of his robe, patting it gently to make sure it was safe.  
Pheona tilted her head curiously at the strange object, but decided by his solemn expression that it was best not to ask.  
A long silence came over them as Pheona sat up, tucking her legs against her front as she shivered from the cold, her magic warming her as quickly as she dared to- she always had a hard time using her fire magic when she first woke up.  
"We'll have to get moving soon- the dragons will be looking for new caves for the winter." Keisin said, his usual cheery voice flat.  
Pheona nodded, wondering why he had suddenly gotten into such a bad mood.  
"Do you think Lir will be okay? He can hardly walk yet… and Rynu's just a tienko." Pheona said uneasily as she looked over to them, seeing that both of them were still sound asleep.  
"We don't have much choice, Pheona." Keisin looked over at her, faltering at her concerned expression as she looked over at them. "We'll do our best- but I think we've already stayed here too long. The pass will get blocked with snow for the winter at the rate it's falling at."  
Pheona sighed, knowing he was probably right. "Do you know the way out?"  
"Of course." Keisin nodded. "But… do you think we could stop somewhere before we go? It's nearby- it would only take a few minutes more."  
Pheona watched him for a minute before nodding.  
"Thanks. We'll leave when the sun is high- that way some of the snow will melt by then." Keisin said, standing to break the small camp they had made.

Lir trudged through the thick snow, wishing he had his hooves back- his feet were freezing against the gold ground- he wasn't used to feeling his own feet hit the ground. He watched Keisin walk up to the edge of a cliff, looking over the side and closing his eyes as if in pain. The cliff was jagged and steep- long furrows of claw marks ran across the ground until they ended at the edge, telling of a creature's struggle to survive against the fall.  
Pheona looked over the edge of the cliff, seeing a large skeleton of a dragon below, a smaller human skeleton beside it, the blue robe covering the rotting bones looking eerily familiar.  
"Is that…?" Pheona looked up to Keisin with wide eyes.  
"Yeah, that's my dad. He was fighting a dragon that had attacked our house and killed my mom. He blasted the dragon off the cliff, but… it took him with it." Keisin looked down at the body sadly. "I would bury him, but the dragon's body still has poison all over it. I can't really get near it without risking myself too."  
Pheona nodded, looking over at him in concern. He touched the amulet at his neck again, taking a pile of ashes from a pouch at his waist and throwing it off the cliff, littering the snow below with black flecks.  
"I'm leaving- I may be back. If I don't, then know that I'll be alright." Keisin muttered softly before turning back around. He started walking away from the cliff, the others hurrying to trudge after him in the snow.


	11. Chapter 11 Dragon's Flame

They were walking through a narrow pass in the moutains when Keisin held up his hand to make them stop, looking up with wide eyes.  
"I was afraid of this- everyone get down!" Keisin yelled as a flapping sound started getting louder among the silence of the snowy terrain. They all fell to the ground in time to avoid a dragon's claws in the air above them, the dragon roaring in frustration as it turned around for another pass.  
"Is that a dragon?" Pheona yelled against the loud roaring as she looked over at Keisin.  
"Yeah, and it looks pretty hungry." Keisin looked up at it with an annoyed expression. "These things have the worst timing."  
Pheona stared at the huge black beast as it turned around, falling toward the ground with its wings tucked at its side, diving toward them with amazing speed. "So what do we do?" She yelled.  
"We fight it." Keisin said, standing. "What else can we do?"  
Pheona stood, looking up at the monster with frustration. "I've never fought a dragon before- aren't they really dangerous?" She asked, looking back at Lir and Rynu. Lir stood as well, looking panicked.  
"Of course they're dangerous- but we might be able to fight it if we all work together." Keisin said, looking over to Lir. "Can you use your magic?"  
"I don't know- I don't have my horn!" Lir yelled in frustration.  
"Try focusing it through your hands like I do." Pheona said, looking up as the dragon swooped over them again, missing them as they all ducked. It roared again and rounded, its mouth opening wide and glowing.  
"It's getting ready to use its fire- Pheona, can you blast it?" Keisin asked.  
"I'll try." Pheona said, holding up both of her hands and focusing as they glowed red with her magic. The dragon and Pheona both unleashed their fire at the same time, the streams of heat colliding with each other with amazing power, furling into a ball at the point where they connected. Pheona focused on the magic as the dragon increased its power, the central point of the connection falling toward Pheona slowly. She started sweating with the effort of concentration, yelling in panic as the roiling chaos of the connection growing closer and closer toward her.  
"Pheona, let it go!" Keisin yelled, backing up in horror at the massive amount of energy creeping toward them.  
"I can't- if I do, you'll get hurt too." Pheona gritted through her teeth.  
"Pheona!" Lir yelled in horror as the glow connected with her hands, surrounding Pheona in a blast of intense heat. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground as the glow started dissipating from her, leaving her unconcious on the ground. Lir rushed over, tripping at the last minute to land on his knees, crawling the rest of the way over to her to make sure she was alive. He sighed with relief at the soft breathing coming from her mouth and looked up at the dragon in anger.  
"Hey you big ugly lizard!" Lir yelled. "Get your tail down here and fight me like a real dragon!"  
The dragon growled in anger, lowering slowly to the ground, landing with a huge thud, making the mountain shake below them. It watched him warily, its red eyes bright with interest.  
"Yeah, I'm not normal, am I?" Lir gritted his teeth, raising a hand toward the dragon, looking at it uneasily as he tried to concentrate his magic. He smiled in satisfaction when it started glowing a soft golden color.  
"Keisin, can you please take Pheona to a safer place?" Lir said, still looking at the dragon. "I'll take care of him."  
Keisin watched him uncertainly for a minute before nodding, walking quickly over to Pheona and picking her up, walking her over to an outcrop in the rock and settling her down on the snow gently. Rynu jumped onto the rock, looking at Pheona in concern before watching Lir uneasily.  
The dragon charged at Lir, who tried to dodge to the side, but was still too slow on his new feet. Lir tripped into the snow, looking up in surprise as the dragon laughed in amusement, circling him. Lir stood, watching the dragon with a dark stare, holding up his hand as it glowed vibrantly with magic, a single line of light bursting from his palm to hit the dragon in the wing. The spot where the light hit the dragon's skin sizzled and melted, the gaping hole in the thin flesh expanding as the dragon cried out in pain. It thrashed against the beam, making the light hit the dragon instead in the head. At the contact of the light to its head, the dragon cried out in agony, falling to the ground with a great rumble. Lir shook his hand as it smoked slightly, the palm of his hand burned from his magic. He walked back over to Pheona as Keisin and Rynu stared at him in shock.  
"What?" Lir growled in frustration at their stares. "He hurt Pheona."  
Keisin chuckled in amusement. "Remind me never to make you angry. Pheona's fine- she just got singed a bit." Keisin looked down at her. "Why didn't she stop? I wouldn't have hurt her as much if her magic hadn't been added to the power when it hit her."  
"She's Pheona. That's how she is." Lir shrugged. He picked her up, his legs faltering slightly at sudden imbalance. He leaned back against the rock, hissing in frustration. "Do you think you could carry her?" He muttered.  
"Yeah." Keisin said, picking her up and standing. "Hopefully nothing else will bother us until we get through the pass." He sighed, angry with himelf for not being able to help without his magic.


	12. Chapter 12 Sorcerer's Sacrifice

Pheona groaned, waking up in someone's arms. She looked up and squeaked in shock when she saw Keisin grin down at her.  
"Hey, I'm glad you're awake." He said, looking over to Lir, who walked closer to inspect her.  
"Someday I'm going to get really annoyed with you trying to do that kind of thing." Lir looked down at Pheona, looking her over and seeing she was generally okay. "Are you feeling alright? You took an entire dragon fire- anyone who hadn't studied fire magic like you have would have been burned up."  
Pheona looked down at her hands, which were indeed singed on the palms. She hissed in pain, holding them to her sides to try and stop the pounding pain.  
"Yeah, probably wasn't a good idea- but what else was I supposed to do?" Pheona said through gritted teeth as her body started to lose its adrenalin, the pain increasing with each passing minute.  
"Lir, pick up some clean snow, please?" Keisin said, looking down at her hands with some concern.  
Lir nodded, leaning down and nearly stumbling with the effort of balancing while leaning. He brought a large handful of snow back over to Keisin curiously, who nodded his head toward Pheona's hands.  
"Put it in her hands to cool them down. I don't have enough magic built up yet to heal them." Keisin said, his tone laced with frustration.  
Lir put the snow into Pheona's hands, who sighed with relief, glancing up to Keisin.  
"Thanks." She said softly, not really knowing how to act around him. He was still a sorcerer, no matter how nice he acted. It seemed like he sincerely wanted to be good, though.  
"So how do you 'build up' magic, anyway? Usually magi either have it, or don't." Lir looked over at Keisin curiously. Rynu meowed in agreement from the Lir's far shoulder, leaning over to look at Keisin for an answer.  
Keisin hesitated at the sudden interest in him, clearing his throat uneasily. "I'm a sorcerer- I'm not a magi. I have to build up magic after I use it, or else I run out. For sorcerer's, running out of magic is very… bad." He said, looking nervous. "If we run completely out, we can never get it back."  
Lir blinked in surprise. "You'd be just a regular guy? No magic at all?"  
Keisin shook his head. "None, ever again. It's not a very good thing to think about."  
"So… how did you get magic in the first place, if you're just a normal person without it?" Pheona looked up at him curiously.  
Keisin sighed. "I don't like telling people. It's kind of… a weakness."  
Pheona scoffed, hitting him on the chest. "Hypocrite- you want me to trust you, but you won't trust any of us?"  
Keisin rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I guess you're right." He sighed, looking down at her. " But you have to swear not to tell any other magi. This is serious- no one else."  
Pheona blinked in surprise and nodded, wondering why he was suddenly so serious.  
"Alright. See the chain around my neck?" Keisin said, unable to grab his necklace while carrying Pheona. "There's an amulet attached to it. Take it out."  
Pheona blushed slightly and reached up, skimming along his neck until the Amulet hung in front of his robe. It swirled with shades of blues, ever changing while she looked at the strange stone.  
"That's my magic. Without that necklace, I have no powers. It used to be my father's, but he had left it on the cliff before he died." Keisin said sadly, glancing down at the large amulet.  
Lir looked over in interest at the amulet. "Ah, that explains a lot. You have to let it recharge to use your magic again."  
Keisin nodded. "No sorcerer has unlimited magic. That's the sacrifice for having such powerful abilities."  
Pheona looked at the amulet, realizing something. "So if I take this off, you'll lose all your magic?"  
Keisin looked down at her uneasily. "Yes, but if I'm without it for too long I'll probably die."  
She looked up at him and took her hand away from the amulet quickly. "Why?"  
"In order to connect with the magic, I had to make a sacrifice."  
Pheona watched him expectedly. "What?"  
"My soul."  
Lir stared at him in shock. "Your SOUL is inside that stone?"  
Keisin nodded. "As long as I have it near, I'm okay."  
"And if you lose it?" Pheona asked softly.  
"I don't know. I don't really like to think about it much."  
Lir nodded in understanding, sniffing the air curiously. "I smell oats." He said in excitement.  
"That means there's a village up ahead." Keisin said, peaking the top of a hill to see a small village in the valley below. "We'll stop here for now. We're in no shape to hunt down poachers yet."  
Lir sighed in relief, looking forward to getting off his aching feet. Human legs were so annoyingly inefficient.


	13. Chapter 13 One Down, One To Go

Keisin woke up groggily, looking around in confusion at the wooden walls before remembering what had happened in the last few days. He sighed and rubbed a palm over his face, sitting up in his brown suede pants.  
"Hey Keisin, are you up?" Pheona knocked at his door, making him wince at the loud noise. His magic was finally starting to return, giving him better senses than he normally had.  
"Yeah, I'm up." Keisin said, standing from the bed and stretching as Pheona opened the door and let out the strangest squeaking noise before she turned around.  
"Put your shirt on! Honestly…" She said with a high voice. Keisin looked down, realizing he was still in the pants he had slept in. He sighed and reached over to his shirt hanging on a chair in the room, slipping the white fabric over his head.  
"There, better?" He grumbled. "It's not like it's a big deal."  
Pheona turned around, still looking uneasy. "There's something wrong with Rynu… I don't really know much about tienko." She said sheepishly.  
Keisin looked up in surprise, grabbing his thick fur-lined robe and walking into the room beside his.  
Rynu was sitting on the floor, making horrible gagging noises as Lir watched in concern.  
"He still hasn't stopped." Lir said as Pheona walked in, kneeling down next to the cat, who was trying his best to breath properly.  
"Oh." Keisin laughed. "He has a hairball."  
Rynu looked up at him with shocked eyes, letting out a long angry hiss before continuing to gag again.  
"Don't get angry with me- just let it out." Keisin said, leaning back against the wall as he waited impatiently.  
Rynu finally coughed up the ball of slimy fuzz, looking at it with utter horror before falling to the ground in dismay.  
"That is completely disgusting." Lir cringed at the sight of the small furball.  
"It's a tienko thing. My dad used to have one that hung around our tower. Kind of a familiar, I suppose you could say."  
"I thought you said sorcerers don't keep companions?" Pheona looked over at him with a wry smirk.  
"Familiar- not companion. There's a difference. Either way, I can probably change one of you guys back today- I have just enough magic to do Rynu, I think. Lir will take quite a bit more."  
"Of course." Lir said in frustration.  
Rynu looked up in excitement, his green eyes wide as he meowed happily and looked frustrated.  
"Alright, everyone stand back then." Keisin said, pushing himself off from the wall and standing in front of Rynu.  
Keisin started chanting with a foreign tongue, making an amazingly intricate symbol in the air in front of him, his finger leaving the air glowing with the symbol as he wrote it. A golden light started pouring from the amulet dangling at his neck, surrounding him until his blue eyes started to glow with the intense power. Rynu started to growl in pain on the ground, the glow surrounding him as well until his entire form was surrounded with it, making Pheona shield her eyes from the light.  
When she looked back up the glow had started to fade, Rynu sitting on the ground in his normal human form, looking quite dazed.  
"There we go." Keisin smiled down at the man, who glared back up at him. Rynu stood up slowly, balancing on his legs carefully before walking over to Keisin.  
"This is for turning me into a cat!" Rynu yelled, punching Keisin square in the jaw, who stumbled back in shock. "Stupid sorcerer."  
Keisin winced, wiping his lip to see it was bleeding. "Okay, I deserved that one." He sighed.  
"But thank you for turning me back." Rynu said, as if annoyed he should thank him. He looked down at Medusa on the ground, who was looking up at Rynu through the black cloth that covered her eyes.  
"It's good to see you too, when you're not twice my size." Rynu said, letting Medusa slither up his arm to wrap around his shoulders, squeezing gently for a minute in affection before settling with a hiss of content.  
"Well, one down and one to go." Keisin said, rubbing his aching head. Using so much magic at once always gave him a headache.  
Lir looked over at him for a minute before looking out of the small window he was standing near. "Someone's coming, and he doesn't look to happy." 


	14. Chapter 14 Unfriendly Stranger

"Who is it?" Keisin walked over to the window, seeing a dark man stop in front of the inn, the woman outside brushing the steps clean. He talked with her for a minute before she shrugged and answered, watching him leave before dropping her broom and rushing inside. Rynu stood behind Lir to hide his lack of clothing as a loud knock sounded at the door.  
Keisin walked over to the door, opening it cautiously before the woman barged into the room, looking at them all in panic. "That was Dustin- what do you people have to do with him? Why is he asking for you?"  
"Who's Dustin?" Keisin asked in confusion as Rynu blanched.  
"Does he know we're here?" Rynu said from behind Lir.  
The woman looked confused, wondering where the new voice had come from, but was too scared to care. "No, thank goodness he believed me. I told him you couldn't afford the price for the rooms when you got here."  
Rynu scoffed. "Yeah, he would believe that. We'll leave as soon as possible." Rynu looked around Lir's broad chest to the woman, his face serious. "Sorry to cause you trouble."  
"Oh, it's no problem dear, that man always hassles people around the village. I was more worried about you folk. Out of curiosity, where did he come from?" The woman pointed to Rynu.  
"I was the tienko." Rynu shrugged simply. The woman stared at him for a minute before letting out a stressful sigh.  
"I won't get into your affairs. Thank you for leaving before Dustin comes back." She said, shaking her head and walking slowly back down the stairs.  
"Well we're not going anywhere until we get you clothes." Keisin said, looking at Rynu with the blanket tied around his waist. "I have a feeling the cold wouldn't be kind to you in that get-up."  
Rynu rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Well, where are we supposed to get clothes?"  
Keisin looked thoughtful for a minute before holding his amulet in his palm for a minute. "Yeah, I have enough magic. Take that blanket off."  
"What?" Pheona squeaked.  
"Fine, turn around if you want, Pheona. I can't do it while it's still tied on him, though." Keisin said, grinning at her in amusement.  
Pheona turned around, holding her hands over her eyes for good measure as Rynu sighed, untying the blanket and dropping it to the floor. Keisin waved his hands, the cloth floating into the air and unweaving, until just a ball of string was left. He then re-wove the cloth into a new shirt and pantsfor Rynu.  
"I hope you like the color brown." Keisin laughed, handing him the new clothing made from the brown blanket.  
"Better than nothing." Rynu sighed, putting on the loose fitting clothes. He looked over at Lir, who was grinning with amusement. "Don't look too happy. I'm going to want my clothes back later."  
Lir's smile fell. "Not while I'm human."  
"This isn't the time." Keisin said, suddenly serious as he looked outside, seeing Dustin talking to another villager. "We have to get out of here before that guy finds us. He seems like he's a lot of trouble."  
Rynu glanced at him uneasily. "You really don't know, then?"  
Keisin huffed in annoyance, looking at him. "Of course I don't- you do though. So Rynu, tell us who this stranger is, and why he's searching for us."  
Rynu sighed, his shoulders slumping with guilt. "He's probably looking for me." He lifted up the sleeve of his arm, revealing the winding serpent tattoo along his bicep. "This is the mark of the Brotherhood. While I wear this tattoo, they'll always search for me. I can never remove it- it will always be a reminder of my mistakes." Rynu said bitterly, letting the sleeve fall back down. "I was so stupid."  
Pheona looked over at Rynu sheepishly, knowing what she had abandoned him once he had joined the brotherhood. "I shouldn't have been so harsh on you, Rynu."  
He looked over at her and smiled softly. "No, you should have. I did some horrible things, some of which I'll never be able to redeem myself for. I know things I shouldn't- and that's why they're after me."  
"What do you know?" Keisin said cautiously.  
"Well, I know that Demetre is up to something, and I know it has something to do with one of those." Rynu pointed to the amulet at Keisin's neck.  
Keisin grabbed his amulet protectively. "A sorcerer's amulet? Where did he manage to get one of those?"  
"Heck if I know. All I do know is that he keeps it on him at all times. I've only seen him a few times, but when I do, he's always wearing it."  
"We'll figure this out later- for now, it's time to go." Pheona said, grabbing their things and packing them up to leave.  
"I agree. The innkeeper was nice enough to take us in, let's not let her get mixed in with those guys." Rynu said, opening the door for Pheona as they walked out, stealthily creeping out of the inn while Dustin was distracted.


	15. Chapter 15 Basilisk's Gaze

The group ran behind a building, Lir nearly tripping as he tried to keep up. They stopped, Keisin leaning around the building to see the man talking with one of the villagers. Dustin looked their way, making Keisin quickly move back behind the building with a nervous expression. He peeked back around, seeing Dustin still talking with the other villager and sighed in relief.  
"We have to get out of here somehow." Keisin whispered to the others. He looked over to another building where a girl was watching them with large purple eyes. She glanced over to Dustin, waving them over as she backed up into the shadows of the building.  
"It looks like she wants to help." Pheona whispered hopefully.  
"Just be careful." Rynu said cautiously as they waited for the opportunity to run over to the building the girl was at. They vanished behind the building just in time, huffing for breath from the long sprint.  
"Are you running from him?" The girl whispered from the other side of the building, looking meek in the shadows.  
"Uh, yeah. He's searching for us, and he doesn't seem too friendly." Keisin said curiously, trying to see the girl in the shadows. Lir felt something flutter his hair, and looked up to see a large soot gryphon looking down at him with narrowed eyes. Lir gasped in surprise, moving so that he was facing the gryphon, which tilted its head curiously at him before sniffing him in interest.  
"Rain, leave him be." The girl said, moving out of the shadows when she saw the gryphon being so friendly. "My name is Isla- you can call my Issy though."  
"So who is this guy?" Keisin glanced over to Dustin, who was searching the village, looking very frustrated. The man let out a sharp whistle, a large flame bursting in front of him, an anaugi curling within the flames, looking up at him expectedly. Dustin talked to the lizard, which looked around and vanished into another burst of flame, turning the snow beneath it immediately into steam.  
"I don't know- I've only been in the village for a little while. I'm on my way to the caves to try and get a new egg that was discovered recently."  
"Ooh, what egg?" Pheona whispered excitedly, trying to look around Keisin.  
"Don't get distracted, Phe." Keisin looked at her in disbelief. "You can get it later."  
Pheona pouted and moved back behind him with a dramatic sigh.  
The girl couldn't help but smile in amusement, the gryphon near Lir huffing with impatience. "I know a place where you guys will be safe- it's a bit cramped for four people, though…"  
"That's alright, we can deal with cramped." Rynu said, looking over at Dustin warily.  
"Alright then, follow me, and stay low." Isla said, signaling to the gryphon. The large creature nodded and jumped up from behind the building, flying silently over toward another before screeching loudly to create a distraction, pacing along the roof of an adjacent building. Dustin looked up in surprise and shouted as they all dashed out, following Isla to where she was running. Rynu yelled as he tripped, making Dustin look over at him and smile in triumph.  
Rynu scrambled to his feet to keep running as Dustin whispered a few words, making Rynu gasp in pain and grab at his hand.  
"Rynu!" Pheona yelled, attempting to go back and help him, but Keisin grabbed her by the waist before she got out of reach.  
Rynu kneeled on the ground, clutching his burning hand to his chest, looking up at Dustin with bared teeth.  
"Ah, the traitor. At last, I have found you." Dustin smiled in satisfaction, kicking Rynu in the side so that he fell over. "That curse Demetre put on you is pretty useful for finding you, isn't it? I knew you were somewhere in this village."  
"What do you want form me?" Rynu growled between his teeth from the pain, looking down at the palm of his hand and seeing blood seeping through his skin in the shape of the curse's symbol. He hissed and hid his hand again, trying desperately to keep his blood inside his hand.  
"What do I want? Well I don't want anything- I was called to bring you to Demetre, but… seeing as you're the only thing he wants, I think I'll be taking that basilisk."  
Rynu's eyes shot open as he glanced in panic to Medusa, who slithered behind Rynu in fear.  
"Over my dead body." Rynu growled in anger, a green glow surrounding his good hand as he prepared to fight.  
"That can be arranged." Dustin said darkly, raising a hand with a red glow.  
Rynu looked down at Medusa, knowing he was sorely outmatched. His head was spinning from the pain running up his arm, black fog clouding his vision as he struggled to keep conscious. Rynu watched the serpent for a moment as he felt the hot stinging sensation of the magic building within Dustin.  
"I'm sorry, Medusa." Rynu said softly before grabbing the serpent, which hissed in confusion. He tore off the cloth covering Medusa's eyes, yelling in pain as both he and Dustin were turned to stone.


	16. Chapter 16 Sorrow and Hope

Pheona struggled against Keisin's grip, yelling in horror as she watched Rynu's skin turn to stone. She turned her skin red-hot to make Keisin release her, who yelled in pain and took his hands away, letting her scramble out to Rynu.  
She fell to her knees beside him, looking him over with burning eyes- his mouth was frozen in a yell of agony, Medusa struggling to get free of his hand while hissing frantically, her eyes shut tightly. Pheona gently removed the serpent from within Rynu's grip, taking the cloth from Rynu's other frozen hand and wrapping back around the basilisk's eyes. Medusa hissed, her tongue touching Rynu before she jerked back in surprise. She slowly slithered up Rynu's arm, laying across his could shoulders with her head drooped.  
"It's not your fault, Medusa- he didn't want to give you up." Pheona said, trying to fight back tears. She bit her lip from the sorrow overwhelming her and turned around toward the statue that was Dustin. She put her hands to the man's cold shoulders, building her magic within the stone statue until it exploded into a million pieces, some of the flying debri cutting her face as it flew past. She looked down at the rubble that had formerly been Dustin and stood shaking with both anger and sadness. A hand touched her shoulder from behind, and she looked behind her to see Keisin watching her with concern. She couldn't help but let out a small sob, turning to him and burying her face in the fur of his robe as she cried.  
Keisin looked down at her in surprise, before wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. He looked down at Rynu, his own expression sad as he thought of what the man must have gone through.  
"He's not dead." Lir said softly from behind Keisin.  
Pheona looked up in surprise at Lir, who was watching Rynu thoughtfully. Medusa raised her head, looking to Lir as well.  
"He's not?" Pheona whispered, wondering how anyone could ever survive being turned to stone.  
"No, there's a way to turn him back, but… it will be difficult." Lir said uneasily, looking toward the forest.  
"How? I'll do anything." Pheona said, ending with a soft sob. He was the only family she had left- even if she hadn't talked to him for years, he was still the closest thing she had to a normal family.  
"We have to find a kirin." Lir said simply.  
"A Kirin?" Keisin asked in disbelief. "They're impossible to track down."  
"Uh, duh- unicorn." Lir pointed to himself with annoyance. "If I get turned back I can find one, explain what happened and we can bring him back to turn Rynu back to normal. I can't do it, but I know they can."  
Keisin looked down at Pheona uneasily, not really knowing what to do. "I don't know how long it will take to build back up my magic to when I can turn you back. It might take quite a while."  
Lir pursed his lips in annoyance. "How long is 'a while'?"  
"Maybe a week? A few days more?" Keisin said, patting Pheona's shoulder as she let out another sob when she glanced at Rynu.  
"It's not like he's going anywhere." Lir sighed, faltering when Pheona's crying got stronger at the statement. "Ah, I didn't mean- he'll be okay, Pheona." Lir said uneasily, walking over to her in concern.  
"Are you sure?" Pheona said, gripping Keisin's robe as she tried to calm down.  
"If Lir thinks he will, I'm sure it'll be alright." Keisin said, starting to get nervous. He wasn't used to women clinging to him like this.  
"Do you think we'd be alright staying here for that long?" Pheona whispered.  
"Do we really have a choice? We can go into the forest and look for signs of poaching while we wait for my magic to build back up. That way we'll at least be doing _something._"  
Isla looked toward Rynu uneasily, not really knowing what to say since she didn't know any of them very well. "If you'd like, I can keep him in my house, if you will help me carry him. That way he won't be out here in the weather. I don't know how that would affect him when he turns back to normal."  
Pheona pushed away from Keisin's chest, rubbing her eyes on her sleeve to try and dry her tears. "Thank you. I'd appreciate that."  
"It's no problem. I'll show you where it is, and we can find out a way to bring him inside before it starts snowing again."  
Lir nodded and walked over to Rynu, putting a hand out to Medusa. "Come on, you have to get inside. He's too cold for you to stay outside with all night."  
Medusa looked at his hand and hissed, setting her head back down on Rynu's stone shoulder.  
"Seriously- he sacrificed a lot for you, don't make it in vain." Lir said sternly, and the basilisk bared her fangs before lowering her head and slithering up Lir's arm. She draped over her shoulders, looking back at Rynu as Lir brought her inside.


	17. Chapter 17 Opposites Attract

Pheona sat beside Rynu's frozen body, glancing at him occasionally as they ate a meal.  
"I've never even seen a Kirin- how do you expect to find one?" Isla asked Lir, who shrugged.  
"Being a light unicorn has its perks. There's so few of us that other creatures tend to seek us out if they know we're near."  
Isla looked at him skeptically. "You're not a unicorn- you're a human."  
Lir snorted looking over at her. "Thanks to him." Lir pointed to Keisin, who shrugged innocently. "I used to be a light unicorn."  
"Either way, why would they seek you out like that?" Keisin said skeptically, reaching into a pouch within his robe, taking out a small satchel of bandages and ointments. He walked over to Pheona, kneeling in front of her and showing her to the contents before opening a vial of paste and putting them on the cuts on her face. She sat still, making no other reaction than glancing at him and looking away.  
"Usually they want me to grant their young or their homes protection. I personally specialize in offensive magic, but I can do defensive too." Lir shrugged.  
"Ah, protection spells. Maybe you should cast one here so Rynu stays safe." Keisin said, taking a small piece of bandage and setting it over one of Pheona's cuts.  
"Alright, but I have to have the owner's permission to make it work." Lir looked over to Isla.  
"By all means, feel free." The slum woman shrugged, leaning against the gryphon behind her as it dozed lazily.  
Lir nodded and waved his hand like he had when fighting the dragon, but nothing happened. His eyebrows lowered with frustration as he tried again, but only got a small fizzle of magic.  
"I miss doing magic with my horn." He grumbled. "Just let me work on it for a bit."  
Keisin turned back to Pheona, starting his work on the largest cut, which gashed into her cheek.  
"You should be careful, you know." He said, his voice strangely gentle. Pheona looked up at him, but still remained silent.  
Keisin sighed, stopping to look at her sternly. "Why are you so depressed? I thought you two weren't that close."  
Pheona bit her lip as her emotions started to rise again. "He's the only family I have left. If he dies, I'll be completely alone."  
Keisin faltered as tears started welling in her eyes and sighed, annoyed at himself. "I'm sorry. I understand how you feel, it's exactly how it was when I lost my father." Keisin put a bandage over the cut before smiling in satisfaction. "All done."  
Pheona reached up to feel the bandages on her cheeks, blushing slightly as she realized how close he was. "Thank you."  
"No big deal. Don't be so sad- I'm sure Rynu wouldn't like seeing you like this."  
Pheona glanced over to Rynu, hating the horrified expression frozen on his face. He looked to be in such agony. "He and I grew up in different cities, and he had a pretty rough childhood. My mom took him in when we were little, but he always got in trouble and didn't study very well. I just wish I had talked to him more."  
Keisin looked down at her in concern. "You shouldn't talk like he's already dead. There's a way to bring him back, you know."  
Pheona sighed, knowing he was right. "It's hard to believe he can turn back, though."  
"It'll be alright." Keisin said, looking up at her and blinking in surprise. He watched her for a minute before clearing his throat nervously and moving back a bit.  
"Yeah. Lir will find a Kirin and bring it back- and then somehow it will turn Rynu back to normal. It seems a bit farfetched, doesn't it?"  
Keisin looked at her wryly. "You're a fire magi who has a unicorn companion who I turned into a human. You have a talking butterfly that tells you secrets and you're traveling with a sorcerer."  
Pheona thought for a minute and chuckled in amusement. "I guess you're right. When you put it that way, it doesn't sound too crazy to turn Rynu back to normal."  
"There, see? Cheer up. Seeing you depressed makes me depressed too." Keisin grinned and ruffled her hair playfully before Lir yelled in triumph, making them both look over.  
A large intricate symbol burned into the air in front of him, expanding so that the glow enveloped the walls before fading, the air tingling with magic as it dissipated.  
"Now no one can enter this home with foul intentions." Lir said proudly, looking happy with himself.  
"Well, I'll stay here with him just in case while you guys go out to the forest." Isla said, looking back at her gryphon as it growled/chirped softly in its sleep.  
"Thanks. We'll go out tomorrow to look for signs of poaching and try to figure out what's going on. For now, let's just try and rest." Keisin said, looking out the window at the snow falling outside in a curtain of white.


	18. Chapter 18 Avalon is Burning

Keisin woke up in the small house, his robe clinging as he dripped with sweat. He gasped at the hot air in the room, hearing a whimper from the ground nearby.  
Pheona tossed in her sleep, an expression of pain on her face as she glowed red with heat radiating into the room.  
Keisin reached over with concern to wake her up.  
"Don't touch her!" Lir hissed from across the dark room. Keisin jumped in surprise and jerked his hand back, looking over at Lir, but only seeing the reflection of Pheona's red magic on the unicorn's long metallic hair.  
"If you wake her up while she's having a nightmare she'll burn you on accident. Just leave her along, she'll be fine." Lir whispered, watching Pheona with a sad expression.  
"She has nightmares like this?" Keisin glanced to her as she whimpered in her sleep again.  
"Yes, and they're always about the same thing. It usually happens when she gets depressed."  
"Do you know what they're about?" Keisin asked, trying to whisper to let Pheona sleep.  
Lir paused uneasily. "I don't know how she would react if I told you."  
Keisin frowned in annoyance . "Why would she be so angry about it?"  
"Because…" Lir thought for a minute. "Honestly I don't know why. She just usually does."  
"Then tell me."  
Lir hesitated for a second befire sighing. "It's about her parents, and me.  
When Pheona was young, her father took care of the forest and the keep that resided there- Avalon. He had hundreds of exotic creatures that he took care of, breeding them and entrusting younger magi with their eggs. A sorcerer…" Lir paused and sighed. "A sorcerer came across her fathers keep, asking for protection. Her father agreed and the sorcerer stayed at Avalon with Pheona and her mother.  
They soon found out the stranger was running from another sorcerer, who decided that since Pheona's family had protected his enemy, they should die too."  
Keisin hissed in horror at what he knew must come next.  
"The sorcerer burned Avalon to the ground. Pheona's father was killed almost instantly in the fire, and her mother sent her to run as far into the forest as she could. Amalthea and I found her crying in the forest inside a hollow tree. I knew something had happened, but didn't know what. She finally told us a few days later, and I did the only thing I could think of- I bought her to the nearest city of humans, where a man took care of her. His name was Conintor, and he acted as her father until she could take care of herself. She restarted Avalon Keep, and learned specialized in fire magic in her studies. I think it's because she has such a dark past with fire- she wanted to learn to control it.  
Keisin sat in stunned silence, looking over at Pheona. "No wonder why she hates sorcerers."  
"Yes, that is definitely one reason. They have not been kind toward her."  
"But I thought Rynu lived with her for a while… where did he go in all of this?"  
"Lir sighed. "I don't know, and if I ask about that time she gets upset. I would suggest waiting until Rynu is turned back to normal and ask him if you really need to know."  
"He ran away." Pheona whispered, making both of the men jump in surprise. She sat up, rubbing her forehead, which was dripping with a cold sweat. She looked around with wide eyes before realizing with relief that she was back in the small house.  
Lir shifted uneasily in his spot, wondering if Pheona would be angry with him for telling Keisin about her past.  
"Rynu came to live with us after his parents died, and ran away a few years later. He was still a teenager, and got mixed up in a bad crowd. That's where the Brotherhood came in."  
Keisin nodded, looking to her in concern amid the silence that settled over the room.  
"Please don't look at me like that." Pheona said sadly. "I don't need you to be worried about me on top of what happened. I'm fine- I live on my own now, and I do pretty good considering I learned by myself."  
"Well yeah, but…" Keisin stopped with a sigh. "Having nightmares like that isn't good for you."  
Pheona looked up at him and sighed. "I know, but they won't go away. I've had them every so often ever since I was little.""  
Keisin stayed silent, not really knowing what else to say. He had the sudden strange urge to grab her, run away and keep her locked up safe forever. He had never had such a strange feeling before, and it made him nervous.  
"Well, it's morning- should we get started going into the forest?" He said, trying to think of something else. Lir smiled wryly from across the room, but decided to stay silent for now.


	19. Chapter 19 Immortal's Death

Isla stood by the doorway, watching Keisin, Pheona and Lir walk into the forest, her large soot gryphon Rain standing beside her, yawning with a small chirp.  
"Odd group, huh?" Isla grinned up at the gryphon, who nodded in agreement. "They seem alright, though. I suppose I'll have to wait to get that icist." Isla sighed, wishing she could already have gotten it- a lot of others had one already, and were flaunting them and trading the eggs for huge amounts of gold or rare creatures. The gryphon looked down at her disappointed expression and grabbed a lock of her black hair in its mouth, chirping encouragingly.  
"You're right. I'll get it eventually, I just have to help them for now. It seems like they need it." Isla watched them disappear into the tree line beyond the village and sighed, walking back inside her temporary home.

"Ah, I've missed this forest." Lir looked around at the trees happily, the dark shadows around him making the small flecks of light reflecting off his hair brilliantly bright.  
"This place really doesn't look friendly." Keisin said uneasily, looking around warily at the small shadows of scurrying animals that ran from their path.  
"Of course not- it's Silva forest." Lir said indignantly. "It's supposed to look foreboding, otherwise humans would have run all over this forest a long time ago."  
"That makes sense. Humans have taken over most of the rest of the world." Pheona chuckled, gasping when she spotted a small Skioros chattering at them from a tree.  
"Leave it be, Phoe." Lir said warily as Pheona looked up at the creature yearningly.  
"But- what if it has little eggs? I could have a skioros!"  
"Not from this forest, you won't." Lir said sternly, making Pheona pout.  
Keisin laughed at the exchange, looking up at the small rodent as well. "Why do you want one so badly?"  
"They're super rare- and not to mention adorable." Pheona said with a smile as the skioros watched her, its tail twitching uneasily at the humans below.  
"I'll never understand magi." Keisin sighed. "It's just a rodent."  
At that comment the skioros chittered angrily and ran up the tree. Lir laughed and started walking deeper into the forest, waiting momentarily for the others to catch up before turning around a thick grove of trees.

"I can't believe you're mad at me for insulting a squirrel." Keisin looked over at Pheona, who glared at him with dark red eyes.  
"It's not 'just a squirrel'." Pheona grumbled.  
"Hey- look." Lir stopped abruptly, making Pheona and Keisin both run into his back. Lir looked back at them with a glare as he stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. He looked back down at a small gleaming object on the ground, partially hidden by decaying leaves. Lir moved aside the leaves cautiously, his eyes widening until it revealed the entire gleaming brown object.  
An earth unicorn horn.  
Lir yelled in shock, stumbling back from the object with wide eyes before he fell onto the forest floor, scrambling further back.  
Pheona watched Lir with confusion before looking down at the object herself and gasping in horror, putting a hand over her mouth as she felt sick to her stomach.  
"Oh gods, this is bad." Keisin said, seeing the horn himself.  
"Pick it up, please." Lir said, visibly shaking as he looked at the horn with wide eyes. "Don't leave it on the ground like that."  
Keisin nodded and picked up the horn, which immediately started glowing in his grip, shining with a strange ethereal glow.  
"That means it hasn't been on the ground for too long." Lir said, trying not to be sick. "Who the hell would kill a unicorn for its horn? We're immortal!"  
"Well, obviously they found some way to kill them." Keisin inspected the object carefully for any traces of who might have done such an act. At the bottom of the horn, the flat based had been sawed off the equine's head. They must have taken the rest of the body with them and accidentally dropped the horn.  
"Well, now we have proof that there's poaching in this forest." Keisin looked around warily. "And if this isn't too old, they can't be too far away."  
"We have to find them somehow- what if they get another unicorn?" Pheona whispered.  
Lir groaned in horror, holding his metallic hair in his hands as he stared at the ground with wide eyes.


	20. Chapter 20 Silent Night

Back in the Avalon Keep, Alabast slithered over to the empty pond, looking down at its lack of eggs with dismay. If Pheona were back, he knew there would at least be a few eggs sitting within the cool water.  
"She's been gone for weeks. I'm beginning to worry." Alabast muttered, glancing over to the mermaid who was sitting in the deeper part of the pool, her tail partially lying outside of the water.  
"You said she usually goes on journeys that can last weeks." The mermaid looked over at him curiously, her brown hair falling over her shoulder with the movement. Alabast watched her momentarily, hissing in annoyance when the mermaid didn't look worried, but instead just combed her hand through her long hair.  
"This time seems different. I have a bad feeling about something." Alabast said, looking over to the herd of unicorns and minicorns, Centurion talking quietly with Amalthea. Both looked worried as well.  
"Well I don't have any bad feelings." The mermaid said in amusement, looking over at him with green eyes.  
Alabast was at the end of his rope- the magi he had formed an alliance with was gone for far too long, and he couldn't help the nagging suspicion that something was very very wrong. "You don't have any feelings." The naga hissed, slithering away as the mermaid's jaw dropped in offense, scoffing and turning away from him.  
He slithered over to the centaur, who glanced down at him from his great height compared to Alabast. Instead of the centaur leaning down, Alabast rose higher on his strong tail, meeting his eye level.  
"Have you any word?" Centurion asked, knowing exactly what Alabast was there to ask.  
"No. Has Amalthea heard anything from Lir?" Alabast glanced at the dark unicorn, who whickered unhappily.  
"No, she has not either. Nor does she feel his presence like she usually does when he is away. It is if he were…"  
"Don't say that!" Alabast hissed. "Lir can take care of himself, and Pheona. They will be fine, and they will come back soon with word of what's going on. They are on an important mission."  
Centurion looked at him in surprise. "You are not normally this concerned about our magi. Have you heard anything?"  
"No, I just have a very bad feeling. Like something is going on that is way over Pheona's head."  
Centurion stayed silent for a bit, glancing to the unicorns gathered around him. "Usually a naga's sense of dread is well heeded. What do you think we should do?"  
"We need to contact Conintor." Alabast looked to the dark unicorn, who nodded in agreement. "But how should we?"  
"I will go." Centurion said, making Amalthea snort in reaction. "Do not snort at me- it is necessary for the sake of the herd." Centurion looked to her, then turned back to Alabast. "If you will give me directions to where he is, I will go."  
Alabast smiled in pleasant surprise. "You will go to the human city for the sake of the herd?"  
"I will do anything for the sake of the herd." The centaur said in determination, looking to the frost and earth unicorns around him. "They are my responsibility, entrusted to me by my tribe and Pheona."  
"Very well, I'll make a map for you." Alabast said, slithering over to his belongings to get a parchment and ink pen.

Back in the mountains it was dusk, and the group had traveled back through the forest to the cabin. Pheona was lying on the floor, resting on her side as she stared at the wall opposite from her. Keisin laid down a few feet away from her in the small house, tucking the unicorn horn inside a cloth and setting it down by him. He spread his robe out on the ground and laid down on it with a long sigh.  
Lir slept in the corner, occasionally muttering in his sleep as he tossed restlessly. Keisin didn't blame him- since they had found the horn in the woods, Lir had been in shock, not speaking or reacting to anything for hours.  
"I hope he'll be okay." Keisin said quietly, turning on his side toward Pheona, looking at her relaxed face as she tried to sleep.  
"I do too. I don't blame his reaction, but I'm glad we found what we were looking for." Pheona opened her eyes, which seemed to glow in the dark room. "Why do you think they would kill a unicorn?"  
Keisin thought for a minute before shaking his head. "The only thing I can think of is to take its magic, but I have no idea why. Unicorn magic is different from human magic. It can't be contained."  
Pheona looked over at Lir, sitting up to glance at him before lying back down. "How long do you think until you can change him back? I don't think he likes being human."  
"I don't know." Keisin said softly, hating the answer. "I wish I could do it now."  
Pheona sighed, looking up at him for the first time. His eyes were a deep blue- like the waves of the deep ocean. Why had she never looked at his eyes?  
The strangest thing is that they were dark- as if whatever spark had been behind him instead swirled in the amulet around his neck.  
"What?" Keisin asked as she stared.  
Pheona blushed and looked away, a soft smile coming over her face. "Nothing. I was just thinking of how different we are."  
Keisin didn't really know what to say to that. Was that a bad thing? "That's true- you're a fire mage, and I'm from the mountains." He chuckled. "I specialize in snow and ice spells, you know."  
"Well you'd almost have to, to survive there. I would freeze like an icicle if I stayed too long in those mountains."  
Keisin grinned to her, resisting the sudden urge to reach toward her and touch her long hair. He cleared his throat and looked away. "We should probably get to sleep. We'll go back into the forest tomorrow."  
Pheona blinked in surprise at the sudden change of mood but nodded, turning over so that she was facing away from him, her arms wrapped around her as she radiated gently with heat to keep warm during the winter night.  
Keisin waited until he heard her steady deep breathing, telling that she was asleep. He sat up slightly, reaching out cautiously toward her, running a few fingers through her black silken hair. He held his breath as she shifted in her sleep, but settled back down with a soft sigh.  
He took his hand away, letting her hair fall against her shoulder before lying back down and watching her back with frustration and confusion toward what he was feeling.


	21. Chapter 21 Little Orphan

The forest was silent- and it was unnerving. Pheona looked around warily as Lir walked behind them silently, still shaken from the events of the day before.  
"I don't like this. Something's happened recently." Keisin whispered to Pheona, who nodded carefully.  
_go north_ Keisin heard Prism whisper against Pheona's shoulder, which was near enough to hear the butterfly from.  
He turned in that direction without hesitation, Pheona surprised when she realized she had thought north was another direction. Stupid lack of direction.  
Keisin stopped when he heard a small strange chirping noise from the trees nearby. He walked in front of Pheona protectively, holding up his hands as he searched the forest around him for any signs of the poachers.  
Instead something fell on his head.  
Keisin shouted in shock as feathers and fur flew into his view, tackling him to the ground as it clung to his head, chirping happily. Keisin managed to tug the creature away from his face, only to see a small gryphon chirping at him cutely, tilting its red feathered head.  
"Oh my- it's a cardinal gryphon!" Pheona said in surprise, walking over to look at the small hatchling, who watched her warily, the feather crest on top of its head rising with alarm.  
"Where's its mother? They usually don't let hatchlings get too far away." Lir said uneasily, watching the small creature twitter in Keisin's grip.  
"We should probably look around. She can't be far, and I really don't want to meet an angry mother grpyhon." Keisin said, setting the hatchling down, who instead decided to cling to his leg, digging its small claws into the cloth of his pants, its small red wings flapping as it chirped.  
"Wow, it likes you quite a bit." Pheona chuckled, kneeling down and picking the hatchling up, which protested with loud growls and chirps, struggling in her grip. She yelled in surprise when one of its talons on its front bird legs caught her arm, scratching her so that she let go of it. It flipped and landed on its feet, running over to Keisin and running beneath his robe.  
"How do I get this thing to go away?" Keisin lifted his foot, afraid he would step on the creature and hurt it.  
"I'm afraid you can't." Lir said from around the other side of a tree. Pheona followed him and looked to what he was staring at, gasping and covering her mouth in shock.  
A large gryphon lay on the ground, its throat slashed. Blood stained the snow around it, brown feathers littering the ground. The hatchling looked at the body momentarily, its eyes widening as it jumped off Keisin's leg to bump the body with its beak, chirping softly.  
"This is going too far." Keisin growled, walking over to the small gryphon and picking it up gently. It looked down at the body from his arms as Keisin walked away, looking over to Pheona and stopping in his tracks at her dark expression.  
"Stay here, I'm going to go see if anyone is around." She said through clenched teeth, holding her hands to her side and bursting fire from her palms, the flames shooting into the ground beneath her until she lifted above the trees from the force of the fires' blazes.  
Keisin watched her with shock as she directed the flames forwards and backwards, looking to the ground beneath her before lowering back down in the same spot.  
"No one's around still." She said in frustration, looking down at the ground. "I feel like they're just toying with us. What if our presence is making them be more ruthless?"  
Keisin was still trying to get over the fact that Pheona could use her fire to fly. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it again when he lost the words.  
She glanced to him and saw his shocked expression and smiled wryly. "I learned that from my old mentor. He was a fire magi too. I can't do it for very long, though."  
Keisin couldn't do anything other than nod, the gryphon looking up at his shock and chirping once in concern. He looked down at the small creature, who tilted its head at him and chirped again.  
"I'm fine." He said absently, looking back at Pheona. "I doubt that they know we're here. It's a big forest, and we haven't been out here for more than a couple of days. They probably acted like this before we even got here."  
Pheona bit her lip nervously. "That's what I was afraid of. What kind of people are we dealing with?"  
"People with no morals." Keisin hoisted the small creature onto his shoulders. The gryphon looked at the perch skeptically before settling around his neck, its wings folded gently against the back of his neck.  
"At least this little guy will still have someone to take care of him." Keisin said, tentatively reaching up to the gryphon and petting its red feathered crest, making the hatchling purr happily.  
"I thought you said you didn't like creatures- that they were just animals." Pheona watched him dote over the small gryphon in amusement.  
"I'm not heartless, you know." Keisin said defensively. "Besides, he needs someone to take care of him- we can't just leave him here in the middle of winter. He would probably die within a week."  
Pheona nodded sadly, wondering how many hatchlings had died in these forests without their mothers to care for them. The thought made her choke with anger.

Centurion ignored people's stares at his horse legs as he walked through the large human city of Synara, looking up at the signs of the buildings, trying to read the humans' strange scribbles on the wood. He had never bothered to learn human script- now he was learning to regret it. He looked down at the parchment in his hand, memorizing the shape of the word rather than the actual text in Alabast's neat and tidy writing. Finally he found the place- if only from the familiar smell of stables enticing him in that direction. Centurion stopped in front of the door, wondering what to do next. He had never gone inside a human building before. He opened the door slowly, peering inside before stepping onto the wooden floors, wincing as his hooves making loud clamping noises against the planks. Well, so much for being subtle.  
"I thought I told you to stay in the stable- I'll get you oats in a minute." He heard a voice call out from the back of the building, making Centurion grin. His creatures must have free reign of his home, and he surely had equines of some sort to recognize the sound of hooves on wood from so far away.  
"I am not here for oats, though that would be welcome." Centurion said uneasily, moving further into the room and shutting the door behind him. Luckily the door was large and wide enough for his body, though he had to duck to avoid hitting his head.  
"Who-" A man looked over from around the corner, his eyes widening in his plump face. "Well I'll be a lemur's uncle. What's a centaur doing in Synara City?"  
"I am Pheona's ally." Centurion said, looking around with interest at the decorations of elk around the shop. It was obvious this man had a soft spot for the northerly cousins.  
"Pheona? I thought she was going to look for poachers with Lir." Conintor walked into the room, holding up a bowl of oats to the centaur, who took it with a nod of thanks.  
"We are beginning to worry, and hoped you had heard word of how she and Lir were. Amalthea has lost contact with her mate for quite a few days now. Usually they hold a link with each other, even when separated."  
"Unicorns never cease to amaze me." Conintor whispered absently. "No, I haven't heard anything from them for over a week, now."  
Centurion frowned at the news, knowing Alabast was right. Something was very wrong. Usually Pheona would at least send someone a message that she would be absent.  
"Now that you're here though, would you mind taking a look at someone for me?" Conintor said, motioning toward the stables next door.  
"Of course." Centurion said without hesitation, looking in that direction.  
Conintor led him out the door and into the stable, greeted by a large female elk who stood guard at the door, moving aside when she saw Conintor and staring at Centurion as he passed by. The centaur nodded in greeting to her and she nodded back quickly, following them to the back of the stables.  
"I've been trying my best, but he seems to be getting worse." Conintor motioned toward the furthest stable in the dark corner, where labored breathing continued to come from the fresh hay.  
Centurion peered into the stable and startled, a long string of foreign words coming from his mouth as he moved beside the unicorn.  
"How long as he been like this?" Centurion asked, opening one of the eye lids of the unicorn to see glazed eyes as the creature labored for breath.  
"Since Pheona left. I found him in the forest, unable to walk. Brought him here because I figured it was better than leaving him out there alone."  
Centurion looked to the man with respect and nodded, holding out one of his gray hands over the unicorn, muttering softly to himself before sighing in dismay.  
"There is nothing physically wrong with him. Something must have happened with his magic to make him act this way, and I cannot heal that. I don't have nearly as much magic as a unicorn."  
"Do you know anyone who would?" Conintor said desperately, hating to see such a creature die.  
Centurion scoffed. "The only other being with as much magic as a unicorn is a sorcerer, and we all know they would sooner kill a creature than help it."


	22. Chapter 22 Captive

"What do gryphons eat?" Keisin asked as they sat in the cabin, the small gryphon chewing on the end of his robe's sleeve. It chirped up at him before continuing to nom on the fuzzy end of the fabric.  
"I'm pretty sure they're carnivores, but we don't have any meat anymore. We cooked the last of the deer yesterday." Pheona looked down at the hatchling with a soft smile, the little one glancing up at her with bright eyes, a small growl coming from its beak.  
"Well, I'll go out and get something for him." Keisin sighed, handing the hatchling over to Pheona, who held it in her arms, holding the hatchling as it struggled to get back to Keisin.  
"Hey." Keisin kneeled down, making the hatchling stop and look up at him at attention. "You be nice to Pheona. She doesn't deserve any trouble, alright? She'll take good care of you while I'm gone, and I'll be back with something to eat."  
Pheona grinned up at him happily, making Keisin falter.  
"What?" He asked as her smile widened more.  
"You're turning into quite a doting magi, Keisin." Pheona chuckled as the hatchling relaxed in her grip, purring as he settled into the curve of her arm.  
Keisin blushed, looking down at the hatchling. "Well, you have to admit he's cute. I can't really resist a face like that."  
The hatchling opened its eyes and chirped at him happily, reaching its talons out. Keisin sighed and pet the small creature on the top of its head, standing and walking out of the cabin.  
Pheona looked down at the hatchling as it watched the door for Keisin to return, wondering why it was so obsessed with him.

Keisin walked through the snow, looking around for any sign of prey but seeing only snowflakes. Walking further into the forest, he ignored the snow covered corpse he knew was the cardinal gryphon.  
"So, you must be one of them." Keisin turned around at a voice behind him as a large man with red hair stepped from behind a tree, followed by a rather large dog of some sort. It growled low in its throat as it stood beside its master, teeth bare menacingly.  
Keisin backed up a step, knowing he could do one of two things: Use the magic he had been saving this week, and risk not being able to get through the pass in time to head toward Pheona's home. If he waited much longer, the pass would close and they wouldn't be able to go back. Or… he could surrender.  
Keisin stared wide eyed as the dog approached him, sparks flying from its black and yellow striped fur.  
"Sick him." The man sneered, and the dog ran toward Keisin, snarling as electricity arched across its body. A spark of the electricity met his hand, making Keisin cry out in pain as it made his hand go numb, half of his ability to make runes now completely useless.  
Keisin cursed under his breath, knowing his decision had been made for him. He hesitated momentarily before grabbing the pendant around his neck as the dog advanced again, electricity licking at Keisin's body so that he fell numb. Keisin managed to keep enough strength to throw his amulet as far away from his attacker as possible, hoping Pheona would find it when she realized something was wrong.  
The moment the amulet left his hand, Keisin felt the world darken around him. He slumped to the ground, nearly falling onto the dog growling in front of him.

Pheona watched the hatchling sleep against her leg, waiting for Keisin to return with a meal for it. He had been gone for quite a while now, and it would get dark soon.  
"Do you think he's in trouble?" Pheona asked Lir, who was looking down at the hatchling sadly.  
"Keisin's a sorcerer. He should be fine." Lir said, but starting to get uneasy as well. Being out at dark in Silva forest was not a good idea.  
"I'm going to go looking for him." Pheona stood, bringing the hatchling over to Lir, plopping the sleeping gryphon down in the unicorns arms.  
"You shouldn't go out there alone." Lir protested, looking down at the gryphon apprehensively.  
"You have to take care of the hatchling. Isla is out talking to the villagers, otherwise I would ask her."  
Lir watched her uneasily with his golden eyes, glancing down at the hatchling as it yawned in its sleep. "If you're not back by nightfall, I'm coming to look for you."  
Pheona nodded, walking out the door and leaving Lir watching after her in concern.

Pheona walked through the snow in the setting sun, looking down at the foot prints from Keisin's boots in the snow. She followed them deeper into the forest, noticing they stopped in front of a tree, a large imprint on the ground telling her he had fallen for some reason, and two prints leaving- a man and a large dog of some sort. Pheona looked around for him, but saw no signs of anything in the setting sun, the dark shadows of the forest obstructing her view of most of the area. She held up a hand against the fading light, letting the red glow of her magic radiate from her as she looked around for any sign of where Keisin had gone. She spotted a sparkle over in a tree and walked over to investigate.  
It was Keisin's amulet, hanging from a small branch of a tree- the twigs that littered the ground told that it had been thrown into the tree for some reason.  
Pheona stood on her tiptoes to grab it, looking at the swirling depths of the blue crystal inside the golden setting. This was not good- wherever Keisin was, he was without any magic, or maybe even without his soul. Pheona looked nervously down at the amulet before unlatching the clasp and putting it around her neck for safe keeping. She looked down at it as it hummed softly against her tan skin, a strange warmth heating her neck from the stone. She held the amulet protectively for a minute before walking back over to the two pairs of tracks and jogging after them, her eyes filled with anger.


	23. Chapter 23 Rescue by Fire

Pheona let her glow brighten around her body, not caring if it made her a target in the deep forest. She was looking for Keisin- her mind was entirely focused. A low growl sounded from her right as she looked down to see the wolf's tracks divide from the humans and travel toward a grove of trees. The growl got louder as she walked in that direction, her hands singing the bark of the plants as she pushed them aside, making her way through the brush. A large raiju looked up at her from its resting place, snarling as electricity started arching across its fur.  
"I don't think so." Pheona hissed and clapped her hands together, a large red sphere surrounding the beast. It looked at its prison in shock, arching more electricity against the walls but to no avail.  
Pheona left the raiju, knowing the containment spell she had made wouldn't last long against its electricity. She needed to find the human that had been traveling with the dog.  
"Stupid kids, wandering through the forest like that. Why won't you wake up?" A man muttered from the other side of a grove, Keisin lying on the ground unconscious while the man sat over a fire and cooked dinner. Pheona looked over at the backpack beside the man, noticing rather large knives sticking out of its flap. She seethed with anger, realizing that this man must be one of the poachers they had been looking for- and now he had Keisin!  
Pheona couldn't help the rage that coursed through her, making her magic flare violently around her, her eyes glowing with red flaming tendrils seeping from their depths. She entered the clearing, the man looking up idly and gasping in terror at the raging magi coming toward him.  
"What do you want?" He scrambled backwards, looking around for his companion Raiju.  
"How dare you do this." Pheona growled through bared teeth, looking down at Keisin's body. "Is he alive?"  
"I-I don't know!" The man said desperately, looking over at the man with wide eyes. "If he's your husband, I had no idea- I just found him in the forest, and-"  
"And were going to kill him like those creatures you killed? The unicorn and the gryphon? I'm afraid I can't let you do that."  
The man's eyes widened as he realized he had been caught. He scrambled over to his pack, pulling out a small black gem. "Stay back!" He stood, holding the gem defensively in his palm toward her as she approached.  
Pheona hesitated, expecting the man to flee- not fight. She had never killed anyone before… She didn't think she had the capacity to. She held a hand up, letting her magic swirl around her palm threateningly.  
"Your raiju is contained- he won't be joining you. Do you really want to risk it?" She said, hoping he would run- just please, let him run…  
"Doesn't seem like I have a choice." The man growled, the small stone in his hand glowing blue against his palm.  
_Don't kill him. Just hurt him enough he'll go away._ A familiar voice filled her mind as the amulet against her neck heated again. She brought a hand up to the stone, feeling its warmth even against the heat of her magic. She glanced down at Keisin's body, knowing now that his soul hadn't been lost- it was still in the amulet.  
Pheona looked up to see a blue tendril snaking toward her from the black stone, sparking against the surrounding air as it traveled. She hesitated for a minute before closing her eyes and letting her magic pour out of her hands in a blast of heat. The man screamed in pain and fell, making Pheona open her eyes and stare at the burned corpse in front of her.  
Gods, she hadn't meant to kill him. She only wanted to hurt him. She gasped in horror at the familiar smell of burned flesh, stepping back in terror as old memories raced unbidden through her mind. She fought back tears as she realized she had become the very thing she had feared. Instead of controlling the fire, she had just learned to wield it instead. She felt the amulet flare against her neck, glowing a soft gold as she sobbed softly, walking over to Keisin's body. She fell to her knees beside him, pulling him back so that he leaned against the tree behind him. She undid the clasp of the necklace and watched as the glow faded, feeling suddenly cold without its warmth. She slipped it back around Keisin's neck, hooking the clasp and waiting.  
Keisin woke up with a gasp and started coughing, as if he was getting used to his lungs again. He blinked in shock and looked up at Pheona, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly to him as she cried.  
"It'll be okay." He whispered against her black hair as he rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. He had seen everything- it was the strangest sensation to be nothing other than a wisp of magic inside a stone. Thank Gods Pheona had found the amulet. He hadn't meant for it to hang from a stupid tree like that.  
"I didn't mean to." She gasped between sobs, making him tighten his hold on her comfortingly.  
"I know you didn't. You did what had to be done, Pheona. He probably would have killed me."  
He looked down in surprise as her crying got harder that the thought of him being killed. "Hey- I wasn't though, and you saved me."  
Pheona nodded against the fur lining of her robe, still burying her face in his shoulder.  
"What is it? He was a poacher, Pheona. He killed a unicorn- why are you so upset? Is there something else?"  
Pheona bit her lip hard enough that it threatened to bleed with the pain of the memories going through her mind. "I learned fire magic to try and control it." She said, letting a shuddering gasp out before wrapping her arms around him and gripping his robe tightly. "I can't control it- all I've done is learn how to use it. I wanted to learn how to prevent…" She opened her eyes for a minute, unable to finish the last part without sobbing again.  
Keisin finally understood. "You wanted to prevent the past from repeating itself. You wanted to keep Avalon safe from fire."  
Pheona nodded into his robe, unable to help but cry again.  
"Hey-" Keisin moved her and used his palm to move her head so that she looked up at him, his blue eyes looking straight into her red. "You did the best you could- no one would say otherwise. Fire is a wild magic- it's part of who you are, in both your past and your magic. Magic can't be controlled completely, and it never will be. Don't blame yourself for what happened."  
Pheona looked up at him for a minute, sniffing as she tried to calm down. She nodded softly, looking down from his intense eyes.  
Keisin moved his hand to her cheek, smiling softly when she leaned slightly into his palm. "Feeling better?"  
Pheona nodded, letting out a small hiccup from her crying and blushed.  
"Alright, we'll go back to the cabin. It's dark out now, and I don't think Lir will want us out late." Keisin stood up, dusting off his robe before hoisting Pheona up into his arms, ignoring her startled cry.  
"You used a lot of magic- I'll carry you back." He explained with a shrug, walking around the burned corpse of the poacher and back toward the cabin. They walked in silence for a bit as Pheona looked down at her intertwined palms resting on her knees as Keisin carried her.  
"Thank you, by the way." He muttered, glancing down at her to make sure she had heard him.  
"For what?" She looked up in confusion.  
"For coming after me. No one's ever done that before." He said uneasily, following the tracks in the snow.  
Pheona nodded, leaning against his shoulder as her head spun. Yeah, she had used too much magic. Keisin looked down with a soft smile as she fell asleep against his shoulder, carried by warm arms.


	24. Chapter 24 Smoldering Flames

Alabast looked up from tending to a small wyvern hatchling, seeing Centurion approach, leading a large bedraggled frost unicorn. The centaur led the newcomer over toward the other unicorns, who surrounded him, waving their horns in question.  
"Who is the new stallion?" Alabast watched the unicorn with interest, turning back to Centurion to see a grim expression on his friend's face.  
"It is even worse than I had dreaded, Alabast. We must find a way to contact Pheona before it's too late."

Keisin brought Pheona into the small cabin as the sun set, walking over to her blanket and setting her down gently. Lir watched silently, noticing the tear stains on Pheona's cheeks and looking to Keisin warily.  
"She killed the poacher who captured me. She didn't mean to, but she couldn't control her fire."  
Lir blinked in surprise and looked down at Pheona in concern. "Is she alright?"  
"Yes." Keisin said, sitting down beside Lir as the small cardinal gryphon pounced into his lap to chew on his sleeve again.  
They sat in silence for a while, watching Pheona as she slept.  
"I've seen the way you look at her lately." Lir said quietly, looking to Keisin with a stern expression. "Be careful. She trusts easily, but should that trust be betrayed she will never forgive you."  
Keisin looked up at Lir in surprise, and nodded. "Is it that obvious?" The man blushed.  
"Yes." Lir grinned. "You have been following her like a lost puppy lately."  
Keisin's blush deepened. "Do you think she's noticed?"  
Lir chuckled, "Women are not psychic, no matter how much they seem like it. No, I'm sure she has not."  
They both jumped in surprise as the door opened and Isla walked in, the large soot gryphon entering behind her. "I bought dinner, and- oh!" She looked down at the small hatchling in Keisin's arms. "Where did he come from?"  
"His mother was killed by poachers." Keisin said as the gryphon chirped in surprise at the sight of a much larger gryphon behind Isla.  
"That's terrible." Isla frowned as Rain, her gryphon, walked over to the hatchling and chirped low in its throat. The smaller gryphon growled back, making Rain look at Keisin in interest. The soot gryphon nodded and walked back over to Isla, settling down next to her to sleep.  
"So then what happened to her?" Isla pointed toward Pheona, who was sleeping soundly on the floor, oblivious to everything around her.  
"She used too much magic. She needs to sleep." Keisin shrugged and leaned his head back against the wall as he thought of how much fire had spread from Pheona's hands. "Way too much magic."  
Lir glanced to him curiously, but decided to stay silent as Isla settled in across the room in her usual spot.  
"Well, I'm getting some sleep. It's supposed to be nice and sunny tomorrow, so I'll keep asking around for more leads on who's poaching." Isla stretched with a wide yawn before settling back against the gryphon's feathers behind her.  
"Good idea." Keisin said, yawning as well. "Hopefully with a good rest I'll have enough magic to turn Lir back."  
"Really?" Lir said eagerly.  
Keisin laughed at the unicorn's eagerness to change back to his real form. "I'm not sure- hopefully, yes."  
Isla fell asleep quickly as Lir and Keisin stayed awake, watching Pheona silently. Lir glanced over at Keisin as he noticed Pheona start to shiver.  
"You will have to keep her warm. Without her fire magic, she gets cold easily.  
Keisin nodded and walked over to Pheona, picking her up and walking over to a corner of the room. He set Pheona down so that she leaned back against his chest and put his robe around her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He smiled gently when she stopped shivering, his thick robe covering the both of them.  
Lir smiled warmly at the sight, suddenly missing Amalthea. Usually he had a mental contact with her mind when traveling great distances, but since he had turned into a human, his mind had been silent.  
"How long does she usually sleep like this when she uses too much magic?" Keisin whispered.  
"She will likely wake up with us in the morning."  
Keisin nodded, moving a lock of Pheona's black hair from her face before settling back agains the wall behind him, holding her protectively.


	25. Chapter 25 Comfort and Confusion

Pheona woke slowly, her head still dizzy from using too much magic. The warm robe wrapped around her made her feel warm and safe enough that she would rather not move just yet. She settled further into the warmth, the arms wrapped around her tightening slightly with the movement.  
Wait.  
Pheona's fuzzy mind suddenly registered that she was leaning against someone, and looked back to see Keisin burying his face against her hair, sleeping soundly. She looked down to see his robe wrapped around the both of them, his arms settled around her shoulders.  
Oh Gods, what should she do? She knew she shouldn't feel this safe in his arms- he was a sorcerer! It had been his kind who had burned down Avalon.  
And yet… Keisin seemed different from what she remembered of those two sorcerers. The sorcerer she had met before hadn't seemed to care about anyone other than himself. Keisin seemed to care quite a bit about others.  
She relaxed against him, feeling confused and vulnerable. She knew what she was feeling- she just didn't know if she wanted to accept it. She let out a small sigh as she wished she could ask Conintor for advice. He always seemed to know the right thing to do.  
Keisin stirred behind her, looking down at her with a warm smile.  
"Awake, sleepy head?" He said, his voice deep and rough from sleeping. She leaned back, feeling small within his grip. Even sitting down he was still taller than her by quite a bit.  
"Yes." She said softly, not really knowing what else to say. He frowned slightly at her nervousness and took his arms away from her shoulders, leaving her feeling cold. She shivered so hard her teeth chattered and Keisin chuckled before wrapping his arms back around her.  
"Are you okay with this?" He asked softly, looking nervous.  
Pheona nodded silently, leaning her cheek against one of his arms thoughtfully.  
"What are you thinking about?" Keisin asked softly, seeing Lir still sleeping across the room, the small cardinal gryphon curled up against Lir's leg.  
"I always thought all sorcerers were evil. This is really confusing." Pheona whispered, reaching up and running her hand through the fur lining of his robe- it was amazingly soft, and the long fur warmed her cold hands.  
Keisin sighed, leaning his head against the wall behind him in frustration. He wanted to kill the sorcerer who had burned down her keep and murdered her family.  
"My father taught me about those types of sorcerers. Apparently a long time ago there was a war that killed a lot of sorcerers on both sides. I hope that I'm the good kind, but I've never met another sorcerer so I guess I can't be too sure."  
Pheona looked back at him, seeing his frustration. "You're the good kind." She whispered, looking away shyly. Why did she suddenly feel so nervous around him?  
Keisin looked down at her and smiled in relief, tightening his arms around her shoulder slightly. "How are you feeling?"  
"Better. I guess I just needed to sleep." She blushed, realizing she had fallen asleep while he had been carrying her back to the cabin.  
"Good. You really worried me when you wouldn't wake up. Is it always like that when you use too much magic?"  
"Usually. Once I slept for three days because I used too much trying to do a really complex spell. I got pretty scolded for that." Pheona smiled, remembering her mentor's lecture on trying spells beyond her capability. "Are you okay? You were without your amulet for a while." She looked back at him, inspecting him a bit, but seeing nothing wrong with him physically.  
"I'm fine. I'm just glad you found it." He sighed. "I can't believe I let myself get caught like that. That dog really messed me up though- what was that thing?"  
"That was a raiju." Pheona smiled. "Actually, he probably messed you up more than he would a magi. They can freeze your powers and sap the magic from you."  
"That would explain it. That's what that electricity was." Keisin sighed. "Well, now I know to leave those things alone."  
Pheona chuckled and leaned back against him, sighing. She glanced to the amulet leaning against his chest next to her and watched the swirling shades of blue inside the stone. "So your soul really is in this thing?"  
"Yep." Keisin looked down at the amulet, taking his arms away from her long enough to unlatch the chain and hold it in front of her so she could see it better.  
"I thought it was strange that it was warm. Usually metal is always cold." Pheona held the small golden amulet, the blue gem in the middle glowing slightly when it touched her palm. Keisin blushed, hoping she didn't know what that meant.  
"That's probably because of all the magic in there. There's quite a bit built up, now." Keisin let go of the chain in experiment, surprised when he wasn't knocked out. Apparently it just needed to be nearby to keep him awake.  
"Careful." Pheona looked back at him warily, seeing what he had done. She looked back down at the amulet, turning it around in her hand. It was roughly the size of her palm, and shaped like a sun, with spikes of sun rays sticking out around the circular blue gem in the middle. On the back there were names inscribed into the metal in different writing styles.  
'Torun of Synara  
Aladine of Arkene  
Piquin of Arkene  
Nisa of Arkene  
Bekinsu of Arkene  
Bucku of Arkene  
Lauren of Arkene  
Rutuke of Alasre  
Lourn of Alasre  
Keisin of Alasre'  
"Who are these people?" Pheona said after reading the names.  
"Those are my ancestors- including my dad, Lourn." Keisin pointed to the names. "All of their souls are in that amulet. It's why my magic is so strong."  
"Wait." Pheona froze. "There are ten sorcerer's souls in this amulet?"  
"Including mine, yes. I'm a 10th generation sorcerer."  
"Gods, no wonder you have so much magic." Lir said from across the room, making Keisin and Pheona jump in surprise.  
Pheona blushed as Lir smiled wryly at her, stretching casually and sighed. "Well Keisin, feeling like you have enough magic to turn me back, yet?"  
Keisin looked down at Phoena and smiled. "I dunno, what do you think, Pheona? Should I put Lir out of his misery of being a horrible human?"  
"Oh yes, because it's such a horrible thing to be human." Pheona snickered.  
"Well compared to being a unicorn." Lir scoffed.  
Keisin laughed and unwrapped his arms from Pheona for a bit, watching to see if she shivered before looking over to Lir. "Ready?" Keisin said, not wanting to get up.  
Lir stood, looking eager as Pheona sat up to allow Keisin to stand up too. He took off his robe and draped it over his shoulders, revealing a white tunic and brown pants. His hair fell over his eyes so that he had to move it before looking over to Lir.  
"Alright, let's do this, then." Keisin said, raising his hands to start writing the complex runes needed for the spell. 


	26. Chapter 26 The Stallion Returns

Keisin spent several minutes writing an intricate rune in the air, sweat starting to form on his brow as he concentrated. Pheona watched uneasily, hoping he knew what he was doing. He finally finished the large intricate rune, the room glowing with golden magic, which poured toward Lir. The glow surrounded Lir, making him look at the swirling vortex uneasily. It suddenly coalesced around him, making his entire body glow brightly and flash. Pheona flinched from the bright light and looked up as it faded to see Lir standing somewhere between human and unicorn- still standing on two legs, but covered in soft white fur with a small horn in his forehead. He looked to Keisin, very annoyed.  
"Try again." Lir growled in anger.  
Keisin couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous Lir looked, but raised his hands to try again. He wrote another intricate rune in the air, following the same steps as before. This time the transformation was complete- Lir stood in his unicorn form, whickering happily.  
Keisin looked at Lir in surprise- he really was a pretty impressive creature in his unicorn form- several feet taller than Keisin, the unicorn stomped on the wooden floor as if getting used to having hooves again.  
"Do you think you can find the kirin now?" Pheona asked Lir, standing with Keisin's robe still around her shoulder.  
Lir nodded, pushing Pheona toward Keisin with his snout. He snorted one, looking at her intensely before stomping his hoof on the wooden floor once.  
"I think he wants you to stay here with me." Keisin looked over to Lir as the unicorn nodded, walking over to the door and looking down at the knob. His ears flipped back in annoyance and looked back ay Keisin with a frustrated expression.  
"Regretting not having hands now?" Keisin laughed and turned the knob, watching Lir run out into the snow, rearing and kicking for the sake of being able to do so before galloping off into the forest.

Lir ran through silva forest, reveling in the feeling of his hooves crushing leaves beneath him as he flew through the trees, the wind making his mane fly wildly behind him.  
_Lir!_ A soft voice filled his mind, making him jump in his run as he heard his mate's voice.  
_I'm sorry I've been out of touch for so long, love. Are you okay?_ Lir answered, slowing to a canter as he looked around the deep forest for any signs of a kirin.  
_I should ask you the same. Why have I not been able to contact you for so long?  
_Lir didn't like worrying Amalthea, and he felt guilty he hadn't had another way to contact her while human. _A sorcerer turned me human, so I wasn't able to contact you. I'm back to normal now though, so all is well._  
_A sorcerer?_ Amalthea said in a panic. _Is Pheona well?_  
Lir couldn't help but whicker in laughter. _Oh yes, she's fine. Remember that vision you had when we first met Pheona all those years ago?  
_Amalthea stayed silent for a bit. _The golden haired human? What about him?_  
Lir felt power thrum through the forest and looked around for the source of the magic. It was obviously a Kirin making the magic flow through this deep part of the forest- deeper than he would ever want Pheona to travel through. This part of the forest did strange things to humans.  
_We have found him. Ironically enough, he is a sorcerer._ Lir answered Amalthea.  
He heard Amalthea's whicker of laughter through his mind and joined her. _I found it amusing as well.  
You must travel back here as quickly as possible. Centurion found out what made the frost unicorn so sick._  
Lir froze mid stride, a shiver of dread traveling up his spine. _Why?_  
_The guardian of that forest was killed._  
Lir's eyes widened in horror. _Whoever is killing these creatures killed a kirin?_  
Amalthea stayed silent, which was all the answer he needed. _I will pass the news on to this guardian. For now I will stay silent, love. I must speak with the kirin and try to convince them to help Rynu. I'm afraid he's been turned to stone by Medusa.  
Poor lad. I'm sure there was good reason?  
She was going to be taken by the Brotherhood.  
Oh, well that is certainly a good reason. I will speak with you later- stay safe, Lir. There are dark times coming ahead.  
_Lir sighed, knowing Amalthea was right. He didn't have the ability to foretell the future like she did, but his sense of dread told him to be wary. He looked up to see a kirin walk toward him, the golden light dappling through the trees against the brown scales on her back.  
_Hello, stallion. What brings you to these woods?  
I have need of your assistance, guardian._ Lir bowed his head politely.

Keisin walked back into the cabin, seeing Pheona petting the small hatchling gryphon as it slept.  
"This is the only way I can get close to him. He doesn't seem to like me much." Pheona smiled up at Keisin as he walked over.


	27. Chapter 27 Guardian's Blessings

Keisin looked up from sitting on the floor with Pheona as hooves cantered up to the door. He yelled in shock when the door slammed open, revealing Lir's hind leg raised to kick the door open, looking rather shocked at the force it had caused. He lowered his foot sheepishly and turned around, motioning for Keisin and Pheona to follow him outside. Keisin settled his robe better over Pheona's shoulders and walked outside, looking around and stopping dead in his tracks as a kirin stared at him with wide doe-like eyes. Pheona gasped in shock as Lir walked over to the kirin, whickering gently to her and motioning to the others. The kirin glanced to him and walked over to Pheona, looking down at her with soft black eyes.  
_Hello, magi. I hear you have a man who has been turned to stone?_ Pheona heard a soft voice echo through her mind, making her jaw drop in shock. The kirin could talk?  
"Um, yes. My cousin. He's inside the cabin." Pheona pointed toward the cabin as Keisin looked at her in surprise. He obviously hadn't heard the kirin talk.  
_Thank you. You may watch if you'd like. He may need help when he awakens._ The kirin walked carefully into the cabin, Pheona noticing with shock that the creature was walking on top of the snow- it made no tracks. When it stepped on the wood it looked down in surprise when its small delicate hooves made noise against the hard floor. She froze, as if not knowing what to do about the fact she was making noise while she walked. Instead she walked forward, looking to Rynu in the corner, and Medusa still curled around his neck protectively.  
The basilisk looked up in surprise, hissing slightly as she slid from Rynu's shoulders. The kirin looked down at Medusa and lowered its head, touching the basilisk with her hose gently. The kirin looked up to Rynu and circled him in interest before leaning over to his face, blowing on him softly. Rynu's face started turning to its normal skin tone, still frozen in place as the rest of his body turned back to normal. He finally fell to the floor completely back to normal, coughs rattling his lungs as he started breathing again. He gasped for breath and froze at the sight of the hooves in front of him, following them up to see the kirin looking down at him, her large ears flipped forward curiously.  
_You are well?_ He heard the kirin's voice in his mind, making him freeze as Pheona rushed over to his side, sitting him up so that he could breathe easier.  
"How the hell did you find a kirin?" Rynu asked Pheona, his voice rough.  
"Lir found her to turn you back." Pheona said, looking at Rynu for a minute before hugging him tightly. "I'm glad you're back to normal. Don't ever do anything like that again."  
Rynu blinked in surprise and smiled, hugging Pheona back gently. "Sorry, cos. I couldn't let him take Medusa, though."  
_Thank you_. Rynu looked down as Medusa wrapped around his shoulders, squeezingly gently in affection.  
"You're we-" Rynu answered, staring at Medusa in shock. "WAIT! How are you talking too?"  
_Since you care for this basilisk so much, I only saw it as fitting that she be able to communicate better with you._ The kirin looked down at Rynu with amusement in her eyes.  
Medusa looked up at the kirin, her tongue flickering in and out of her mouth happily. The kirin nodded her head, and looked over to Pheona.  
_Please stand for a moment._ The kirin said, nodding her head upwards to motion Pheona to stand next to Keisin.  
Pheona stood next to him uneasily, his robe still wrapped around her shoulders. Keisin moved closer to Pheona, still feeling uneasy with such a powerful creature looking toward him. He glanced around the room to see the cardinal gryphon playing with a shoe in the corner of the room. The kirin looked over at the hatchling and back to Keisin, tilting her head curiously.  
_You are an elder sorcerer._ The kirin said simply, making Keisin flinch. Keisin nodded slowly, not really knowing what to do with this creature. Did she mean well?  
_You have nothing to fear, Keisin, son of Lourn. May I ask a favor of you?_ The kirin moved forward, lowering her head forward so her large single antler was in front of him. _Could you please hang your amulet on my horn momentarily?  
_Keisin looked uneasy as he took his amulet from around his neck and put it on one of the prongs of the kirin's horn, taking his hand away and blinking in surprise when he didn't collapse. The kirin waited silently for a moment. _You may take it back now.  
_Keisin took his amulet back, looking at it curiously before slipping it back around his neck. Nothing seemed different, though. He looked concerned as the kirin turned to Pheona, bowing her head slightly.  
_Your stallion has told me much about you, magi. You are well deserving of this gift. May it serve you well._ The kirin put her nose to Pheona's forehead, moving away after a moment. The kirin watched her momentarily before moving back toward the door, looking back at the group of humans  
_I must return to my forest- there is much to discuss with the other guardians since these poachers have been roaming through this land. Please return with the horn back to your keep- it seems your allies are trying to reach you urgently.  
_Pheona blinked in surprise and nodded.  
_Thank you, guardian. I will cast a protection spell on your forest in a moment._ Pheona heard Lir say to the kirin, who looked back at her with what Pheona could only think was a smile.  
"Are you okay?" Keisin looked to Pheona after the kirin had left, pulling her closer and inspecting her in concern.  
"I'm fine." Pheona said, batting his hand away. "I should ask you the same thing. What did she do to your amulet?"  
"I have no clue." Keisin looked down to the stone, which still swirled with the same blue shades as always.  
"Wait." Rynu looked to Keisin and Pheona as he stood, his legs shaking slightly. He glanced back and forth from one to the other, noticing Keisin holding Pheona close, as well as his robe draped over her shoulders. "What did I miss?"  
Keisin sighed, letting go of Pheona reluctantly. "She used all of her magic- so she is cold."  
Rynu's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That explains the robe, at least."  
Keisin returned the wary glare, the two men glaring at each other for a tense moment.  
Pheona looked from one man to the other, stepping between them. "What are you two so tense about? What's going on?"  
Rynu looked at her in surprise, wondering if she was really being that dense. He rolled his eyes and looked away from Keisin. "Ask him."  
Pheona turned to Keisin, who glared at Rynu in frustration. "I'll tell you later." He said, looking back to her uneasily. "For now, we should probably start packing to leave soon.  
Pheona watched Keisin walk over to their supplies, still wondering why Rynu was watching Keisin warily.


	28. Chapter 28 Homeward Bound

"Are you sure you're okay with traveling? You're still getting cold pretty easily." Keisin looked over to Pheona uneasily as she packed up the last of her things.  
"I'll be fine." Pheona sighed, rolling her eyes. "This is the third time you've asked that."  
Keisin blinked in surprise and mumbled to himself as he walked over to his own pack to finish.  
"We got through the mountains without you before, she'll be fine to do it again." Rynu said, glaring to Keisin.  
"Rynu." Pheona scoffed in shock to Rynu, wondering why he was being so hostile.  
Rynu glanced over to her and shrugged as Lir stomped on the wooden floor, his hoof making an amazingly loud clomp against the ground.  
The sound started the three humans into looking at the unicorn, who was looking fiercely at them, snorting in anger.  
_Shut your big mouth, Rynu_. Pheona heard Lir growl with anger in her mind, not able to help but giggle. The three males looked at her in confusion, none of them knowing what she was laughing at.  
"Whatever. I'm just trying to help." Keisin said, glaring at Rynu before hoisting his pack over his shoulders and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him in his anger.  
Pheona looked after him in concern, letting out a depressed sigh. "You should be nicer to him. He really does mean well."  
"Does he?" Rynu looked over at her with wary green eyes. "Have you forgotten what happened to our home?"  
Pheona turned to him with burning eyes. "Don't you ever accuse me of forgetting that. Ever. I should accuse you of forgetting your mother."  
Pheona froze, regretting the words immediately when they came out of her mouth. She saw Rynu's shoulders sag, his green eyes haunted with memories as he looked away.  
"I-I'm sorry." Pheona stammered, horrified with herself. How could she have said something so horrible?  
"Just forget it." Rynu muttered, his voice raspy as he grabbed his pack and walked out the door, slamming it as well.  
Pheona looked down to the ground, feeling alone. Keisin was angry for some reason, and Rynu probably wouldn't talk to her for days now- not that she blamed him much. She sniffed as tears stung at her eyes, hearing clomps walking across the wooden floor. She felt a large snout nudge her back and looked behind her to see Lir watching her with concern in his golden eyes.  
"I'll be okay." Pheona said, drying her eyes and standing slowly.  
_When will you learn that you are a horrible liar?_ Lir's voice echoed through her mind, making her smile wryly.  
"I don't know. I guess I'm just upset that everyone's angry. I don't like to see the people around me unhappy."  
Lir tilted his head in confusion. _You can hear me?_  
"Yeah. I think the kirin did that." Pheona smiled weakly. "Are you okay with it?"  
_Of course._ Lir said in amusement _In fact, it will probably make things easier. _  
"Yeah, that's for sure." Pheona smiled, looking to the door when she heard yelling from outside.  
_Do not mind the, Rynu will learn to like Keisin_. Lir put his head against her shoulder in a sign of affection.  
Pheona nodded, wrapping her arms around Lir's neck for comfort. "Thank you for always being there for me. I don't know what I'd do without you." She said softly, hugging his neck gently.  
_It is no problem, my little magi. Amalthea and I are both happy to take care of you in any way we can.  
_Pheona let go of his neck, glancing over to the door. "Is it bad that I'm not looking forward to going out there?"  
_No, the men are being idiots. _Lir said with a snort of disgust.


	29. Chapter 29 Loving Blossom

Pheona sighed as she rode in Lir's back, the men silently walking on either side of the unicorn.  
"Will you guys at least try to get along?" Pheona sighed, breaking the silence.  
Keisin looked up at her. "I'm fine- he's the one that seems to have a problem with me." Keisin glared at Rynu, who glared back.  
"You're a sorcerer." Rynu said simply, his eyes narrowing.  
"So?" Keisin growled. "What has that got to do with anything?"  
"It has to do with _everything_." Rynu growled. "Sorcerers burned down avalon- killed Pheona's parents. Pheona might be able to look over that, but I can't."  
Pheona looked down at Rynu as he glanced up at her and looked away. She sighed, knowing he was still angry with her. He probably would be for days. She sagged slightly in her seat, making Lir look back at her and whicker in concern.  
_Do not let Rynu get you depressed._ His voice rang through her head, comforting her.  
"It's hard not to." Pheona muttered, making the two men glance at her in confusion.  
Pheona tried to get over the sinking feeling in her chest and looking over to see the cardinal gryphon hatchling climbing up Keisin's robe, sitting in his lowered hood. Keisin sighed and allowed him to sit there, looking like a little basket for the hatchling as it curled up to sleep within the fuzzy robe.  
"Have you thought of a name, yet?" Pheona smiled at the cute hatchling.  
"I don't know." Keisin said, looking up at her. "I'm not used to naming things. Can you think of some?"  
Pheona thought for a minute. "Well he's a male, so scarlet is out of the question. Crimson sounds a little girly too."  
"Russet." Rynu grumbled.  
Pheona looked over at him in surprise and smiled. "Yeah, Russet sounds great- it's still a red color, and it sounds boy-ish. How about that?" She looked over to Keisin.  
"Sounds good to me." Keisin shrugged, making Russet bounce in his hood. The hatchling let out a small growl of discontent as it tried to fall asleep again after being jostled.  
Pheona sighed as the silence settled again between them all, squirming in her seat on Lir nervously.  
"Rynu, you have to move past what happened." Pheona said softly, looking down at him.  
"I can't." Rynu said through clenched teeth. "I've tried."  
Lir looked at him and sighed, a very human gesture. Pheona wondered if Amalthea would be upset Lir had gotten some human habits.  
"If you don't, it'll happen again." Pheona looked down at him with fierce eyes. "And I won't allow that."  
Rynu glanced up at her guiltily and nodded, looking away.  
"I'm missing something." Keisin grumbled, but decided by Pheona's suddenly fierce look that it was best not to ask.  
"Just forget about it for now." Pheona said to Keisin sadly, looking down at her cousin as he walked stiffly, looking away from her.

"Here." Rynu dropped a pile of sticks on the ground in front of Pheona as they stopped to camp for the night, just before going back through the mountain pass. Pheona sighed and took the sticks, setting them up so they formed a small tee-pee and held her hand above the sticks before looking annoyed.  
"I still don't have enough magic back?" She scoffed and tried again, only a small little puff of smoke coming from her palm.  
Rynu sighed and walked over, gently pushing her aside before holding his hand above the fire.  
"No- don't!" Pheona yelled, but Rynu ignored her, his hand glowing black, the sticks below his palm vibrating until one of them sparked and burst into flames. He stood up, looking down at Pheona's condemning expression.  
"Don't look at me like that, I have it under control." Rynu said defensively.  
"Oh, that's bull shit." Pheona said harshly, making Keisin look at her in shock. He had never heard her swear before- she was usually so nice…  
Rynu glared at her for a minute before raising the arm of his sleeve, revealing his tattoo. "Nothing, see?"  
Pheona looked at the dragon tattoo carefully for a minute before looking away. "Just don't do it- you know that you risk yourself every time you do."  
Russet sat in Keisin's lap, burying his head in his robe at the tension around him. Keisin sighed and patted the small gryphon comfortingly.  
"I can take care of myself." Rynu hissed. "I don't need you or anyone else telling me what to do."  
"I'm just trying to help." Pheona said softly, looking up at him with sad eyes. "But you never seem to want it."  
Rynu stared at her for a minute, his green eyes wide before he stormed off into the snow.  
Keisin watched Pheona sigh, leaning down and putting a hand up to her face in frustration.  
"Was he just using black magic?" Keisin watched after Rynu.  
"Yes." Pheona grumbled. "He shouldn't be, especially with that damn tattoo the Brotherhood gave him."  
Keisin looked over at her crushes expression, his chest twisting into knots. "I don't know what happened between you two, but he shouldn't treat you like that."  
Pheona nodded. "I just try to help him. He won't ever admit it, but sometimes he really needs it."  
Keisin sighed and set Russet aside, ignoring his chirp of protest. He stood and walked over to Pheona and sat next to her, leaning down to see her expression as she lowered her head to let her hair hide her face.  
"Hey, cheer up- please?" Keisin looked at her in concern. She was drooped over, reminding him of a wilting flower. She looked up at him through her hair and nodded, but didn't sit up.  
Keisin sighed, looking around for something that might make her happy. He looked over at Russet, who was digging through the snow, sticking his head in the hole and taking up a clump of grass in his beak.  
Keisin looked down at the snow in front of Pheona and moved some of it aside, putting his hand above the grass.  
Pheona watched with surprise as the grass changed form, twisting itself into a stalk before growing upwards. It grew a bud at the end, which opened into a vibrant red and golden flower unlike any she'd ever seen before. She stared down at it for a minute before looking up at Keisin, who was watching her expectedly. "Feeling better?"  
Pheona smiled weakly and nodded, blushing as she looked back down at the flower. He had made it for her- and it was the only one of its kind. No one had ever done anything like that for her. She felt her eyes sting with tears, wiping them quickly as she laughed at herself.  
"Ah- why are you crying? What's wrong now?" Keisin said desperately, wondering if he had done something wrong.  
"Nothing's wrong. It's just… you're so nice." She said, wiping her eyes in embarrassment. Why was she crying?  
"Is that a bad thing?" Keisin said nervously, trying to understand why she was crying.  
"No." Pheona laughed. "It's a good thing."  
"Then why are you crying?" Keisin sighed in frustration.  
"Because I'm happy, I think." Pheona said, realizing how crazy that sounded. "I must be insane. Why am I crying if I'm happy?"  
"Well try not to cry too much. I don't like it." Keisin said with relief. He hadn't done anything wrong, at least.  
"I'll try." Pheona said, smiling. Keisin picked the flower, holding a hand over it for a minute before moving closer and tucking it into Pheona's hair behind her ear.  
"There, keep it if you like it so much. It won't ever wilt now." He smiled warmly to her, making her blush and look away.  
"Thanks." Pheona said softly.  
Lir watched the two of them with amusement, conveying the entire scene to Amalthea, who whickered happily in his mind.  
_Things are finally starting to look better._ Lir said happily to Amalthea before setting his head down to try to get some sleep.


	30. Chapter 30 Uprising

Rynu walked through the snow, seeing Keisin and Pheona as only specks in the distance. The turned from them and closed his eyes in pain, his left arm burning.  
_Pheona is trying to help you._ Medusa hissed softly in his mind. _You should not have used that magic- I can feel it rising inside you.  
_Rynu glanced at her, raising the sleeve of his left arm to see the serpent tattoo running along his skin. The black serpent's spines twitched and the red eyes glowed on Rnyu's arm.  
Rynu quickly lowered his sleeve and swore harshly. He didn't want to admit it, but he had definitely overdone it.  
He cried out in pain as his head started throbbing, the burning sensation on his warm writhing up to his shoulder.  
_Fight it, Rynu!_ Medusa cried out, slithering from his shoulders to the ground as Rynu clenched grips of his hair to try and ease the pain.  
"Not again." Rynu hissed through clenched teeth as the burning crawled up his neck, his vision filling with red before he blacked out.

Keisin looked up as Rynu walked back to them, sitting across the fire silently.  
"Where's Medusa?" Pheona asked, Rynu's usual companion nowhere in sight.  
"She's busy for a minute, she'll be right here." Rynu said, his gaze stopping on Keisin for a few minutes before looking away.  
"So, are you feeling better?" Pheona asked cautiously.  
"Yeah." Rynu grinned.  
Keisin watched him uneasily, seeing Pheona's confusion at his suddenly cheery demeanor.  
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Keisin looked up at Rynu, who suddenly turned wary.  
"Yeah, what about?" Tynu said, glancing to Pheona, who looked worried.  
"Just come with me." Keisin said, standing and walking into the distance with Russet running behind. Rynu and Pheona looked at each other in confusion before Rynu stood and walked over.

Keisin walked until he knew Pheona couldn't see them, and turned to face Rynu.  
"Look, we're worrying Pheona fighting like this, so let's get this over with and talk- man to man."  
"Fine." Rynu shrugged.  
"You know how I feel about Pheona. " Keisin said, trying not to look embarrassed for admitting it.  
"I do?" Rynu looked up at him in confusion.  
Keisin blinked in surprise. "Well… I thought so. I thought that's why you're so angry with me."  
Rynu thought for a minute. "Oh right, that."  
Keisin sighed in frustration and continued. "Well, I love her. What I-"  
"You love Pheona?" Rynu grinned in amusement.  
"Yeah." Keisin said uneasily.  
Rynu burst into a while laughter, making Keisin blush with embarrassment.  
"Why the hell would you love her?" Rynu laughed.  
"What?" Keisin growled in anger.  
"Unless you want a broken woman. I guess some guys just like sloppy seconds." Rynu chuckled in amusement.  
"Stop." Keisin hissed, his clenched fists glowing.  
"She may look all nice and innocent, but after what that guy did to her, I'm surprise anyone would want her."  
Keisin had had enough. He yelled in anger, his glowing hand wrapping around Rynu's neck.  
Rynu choked for air, grabbing at Keisin's hand.  
"I will not tolerate you treating Pheona in such a way." Keisin said darkly, his eyes glowing with his magic. He poured the glow into Rynu, who gasped and fell paralyzed to the snowy ground.  
Keisin leaned down and picked Rynu up by his hair, turning Rynu so he faced him.  
"I don't care if you are Pheona's cousin. Next time you say such things about her, I will not have mercy on you." Keisin said in a low voice before dropping him and walking away.  
Rynu woke up with a shock, magic coursing through him like none he had ever felt before. He looked up in time to see Keisin walk into the distance, Russet turning around and growling at him angrily before trotting after Keisin.  
Rynu watched them leave, wondering what he had done now.


	31. Chapter 31 Confessions

Pheona sighed as she waited impatiently for Keisin and Rynu to return. They had been gone for a line while now. She glanced over at Lir as he laid on the snow, not really paying attention to anything around him. She saw his eyes focused in the distance and knew by that look that he was talking to Amalthea. She sighed and picked at the fire with a stick in boredom.  
She jumped in surprise when Keisin sat next to her, looking very annoyed.  
"Where's Rynu?" Pheona asked, looking around but not seeing him.  
"Thinking. He'll be back soon." Keisin said, his expression softening when he looked at her.  
"You two didn't fight again, did you?" Pheona asked in exasperation.  
Judging by Keisin's hesitance, the answer was yes.  
Keisin looked into the fire thoughtfully, lokoing gradually more and more nervous as the silence stretched on.  
"Pheona, have you ever had a boyfriend before?" Keisin dared to ask, looking uneasy.  
Pheona froze with wide eyes, dropping the stick she had been holding, looking at him in panic. "Why?"  
"Rynu mentioned it." Keisin said, trying to act casual.  
Pheona glared in the direction she thought Rynu was in, looking back at Keisin uneasily. "I don't want you to see me differently." She said softly, her voice worried.  
"I wouldn't." Keisin said, wondering why she was being so hesitant about the subject.  
Pheona looked at the ground uneasily, trying to build the courage to say something. "I did, a while back. It didn't turn out too well, though."  
Keisin watched her struggle with dread, hoping it wasn't too bad. He hated seeing her upset.  
"I was pretty young, and thought that 'hey, maybe since he's cute he'll go out with me.'" Pheona took a deep breath and continued. "Well, he did. But I learned just because someone looks nice doesn't mean they're nice on the inside too. He kept telling me what to do, where to go, got upset when I didn't wan to do whatever he wanted. I tolerated it for about a year. I don't really know why I waited that long." Pheona sighed. "He wanted to do… things. I told him I wasn't ready for that, but I don't think he liked me rejecting him like that." She looked away from Keisin in shame. "He did it anyway. He was so much larger and stronger than me that I couldn't really stop him. I kicked him a few times, and he just kept hitting me." She reached up and rubbed a small scar on her shoulder, as if feeling the pain renew. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you, though."  
Keisin sat in shock, his eyes wide. "He did that to you?"  
Pheona looked up at him, seeing his shocked expression and looked away quickly with a small nod. "I guess you can say I'm used goods. That bastard ruined my life." She chuckled painfully.  
Keisin wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her to his chest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressed it." He said softly, trying to comfort her as she shook.  
"So… what did Rynu tell you?" Pheona said, not really knowing what to do other than lean against him.  
Keisin hesitated, not really wanting to tell her what Rynu had said. It would only make her more upset. "He just said for me to be careful with you- that you've had a bad relationship."  
Pheona blinked in surprise. "He did? That doesn't sound like him."  
Keisin sighed. He didn't like lying to her, but… in this case, it was better than the truth. "How long ago was all of this?" He asked softly.  
"A couple of years. I've tried to forget about it since then."  
"You can't just forget about something like that." Keisin scoffed in disbelief. "Are you still angry about it?" Was she angry at men in general, he wondered? That happened sometimes with situations like this.  
"No. Just… upset about the consequences." Pheona sighed. "I can't ever get married in the Keep because of it."  
"Why not?" Keisin said, confused.  
Pheona froze in his grip, tensing suddenly. "I can't say."  
Keisin nodded, not going to keep pressing her about things she didn't want to say.  
"So what did you two talk about?" Pheona looked up at him curiously. "You were gone for quite a while."  
Keisin coughed uneasily, wondering what to do. Should he actually tell her what they were talking about? He didn't want to scare her away. What if she didn't love him back? What if because he was a sorcerer she would hate him for loving her like that?  
"Why do you look so panicked?" Pheona giggled. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."  
Keisin's pale face suddenly colored with a blush. "I'm fine, I just don't know how you'd react."  
Pheona giggled again. "Why are we so worried about insulting each other? We'll never get anywhere acting like that."  
Keisin chuckled as well, and nodded. "You're right. Do you promise not to get angry, though?"  
Pheona looked up at him and nodded, wondering what he meant.  
"Alright then." Keisin said, leaning down and kissing her softly.  
Pheona's eyes shot wide in surprise as he kissed her and moved away after a minute to see her reaction. Pheona sat in shock, putting her fingers up to her lips as they still tingled with warmth.

Rynu was finally able to move his legs. He sat leaned up against a rock, having crawled from where Keisin had left him in the snow. He was starting to worry. He didn't know where Medusa was, and this cold wasn't good for a basilisk to be alone in. He tried to stand up, wobbling a bit before taking a step forward. He finally regained his full balance and ran over to the place he last remembered being himself. Damn that demon for rising again. He raised his sleeve to look at the tattoo as he ran, seeing the black ink faded slightly. He stopped in his tracks, looking at it closer to realize yeah, it was definitely faded a bit. But that didn't matter right now. He started running again, looking around for any sign of Medusa.  
He finally spotted a small black glint of scales from beneath a small pile of snow. He kneeled next to it, moving the snow off the coiled serpent as she tried to keep warm.  
_How did it go back so quickly?_ Medusa said, her usually cheery voice sounding tired.  
"I don't know. I couldn't move after I woke up. I'm sorry for leaving you out here." Rynu said, hoping she hadn't been permanently hurt from being so cold for so long.  
_You didn't leave me, he did. He never cared for me._ Medusa whispered, raising her head to look up at Rynu.  
"Here, I'll get you warm again." Rynu picked her up gently, keeping her coiled as he held her against his chest, hugging her to keep her warm against him.  
_I'll be fine. I'm just sleepy._ Medusa said, setting her head down on his arm.  
"Don't fall asleep, okay? Just stay awake as long as you can until I get back to the fire." Rynu started running back toward camp, Medusa hissing softly in his arms.


	32. Chapter 32 Inner Demons

Rynu walked up to the fire, ignoring Keisin's dark look as he set Medusa by the warm flames. The basilisk hissed happily, coiling in on herself to try to get warm quickly.  
Rynu looked up at Pheona and Keisin, seeing Pheona's flushed face and her look of shock. "What happened?"  
Pheona looked to Rynu, as if the words had broken her out of a daze. "He kissed me." She said softly.  
Rynu blinked in shock, looking to Keisin. "He did?"  
Keisin watched Rynu, making no other reaction other than his gaze darkening. "Yep."  
Rynu sighed, sitting across the fire from them. "Well, that's that, then. I guess I should have figured it would happen eventually."  
Now it was Keisin's turn to be confused. He had been such an ass earlier- he hadn't expected this frustrated submission to the fact he loved Pheona. "But earlier you…" He looked to Pheona, still not wanting to say what Rynu had said earlier.  
Rynu looked up and swore under his breath, knowing he would have to explain himself now. "Whatever I said, I'm sorry for. I didn't mean what I said, it's just… I overdid it. Again." Rynu looked guiltily over to Pheona, who suddenly looked furious.  
"I knew it! I KNEW you had overdone it you stupid idiot!" She yelled. "I don't know what happened, but you shouldn't let that damn thing out- it always messed things up!"  
Rynu flinched and nodded. "I know. I was dumb, and I almost hurt Medusa." Rynu ran a hand along the spikes that ran down the basilisk's back.  
"What's going on? What happened?" Keisin looked to either of them in confusion.  
"When I joined the Brotherhood, they found out I was pretty good with earth magic. Demetre was experimenting with things, so they made me… ah, host, a creature."  
"'Host'? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Keisin looked at him skeptically. "And how can it make you act like that?"  
Rynu sighed and lifted up his sleeve, revealing the slightly faded tattoo. "That's not a tattoo."  
"H-hey. It looks different." Pheona said, leaning closer to see the gray-black serpent. "It's faded!"  
"Yeah, whatever Keisin did, I think he weakened it a bit." Rynu looked up at the sorcerer, who cleared his throat uneasily.  
"So what is it, then?"  
"I don't know." Rynu looked down at the tattoo. "But it's powered by black magic. When I use it, he can take me over and do whatever the hell he wants with my body. I can't put him back down by myself."  
"So, you have to have someone else do it, and I managed to do so when I-" Keisin glanced at Pheona and back to Rynu. "When I got annoyed with you." He finished.  
"I don't know what I said. I never remember anything that happened." Rynu shrugged. "So I don't know what you did."  
"I overloaded your magic." Keisin admitted, surprising both the magi.  
"You can do that?" Pheona said in surprise.  
"Pretty easily. I just pumped him full of my magic enough that his overloaded. Especially when they're different elements."  
Pheona looked at him thoughtfully. "What element do you focus on?" Pheona asked curiously.  
"Water." Keisn shrugged.  
"Of course." Rynu grinned and rolled his eyes. "That's probably why I couldn't move, though."  
Pheona grinned. "That must have been quite a bit of magic."  
"I'm a sorcerer." Keisin grinned. "That's what we do."  
Pheona chuckled and nodded, smiling softly. "I know. But you're a good sorcerer. You even have a little buddy." Pheona pointed toward Russet, who was sitting on Keisin's lap and looking over to Rynu with wary eyes.  
"Calm down." Keisin put a hand on the hatchling's head, who chirped and set his head down, rolling onto his back to fall asleep against Keisin's fuzzy robe.  
"He's probably going to be angry with me for a while. I must have done something pretty bad." Rynu said guiltily.  
Keisin shrugged. "If you weren't yourself, then it wasn't you saying it. I thought it was kind of odd that you didn't remember anything from yesterday."  
Rynu smiled gratefully. "I'm glad you're not angry still. Some people never forgive me for what I do during that time, and half the time I don't even know what I did."  
Keisin nodded and looked to Pheona, who was still leaning against him. "So, are you okay with what I did earlier?"  
Pheona blushed and nodded gently, trying to ignore Rynu's amused grin.  
Keisin laughed happily and hugged her tightly, sighing against her black hair. "Good."  
Rynu chuckled, not used to seeing his cousin so uneasy. Usually Pheona was quite a strong woman, capable of being pretty independent and free spirited. Now when she was with Keisin, she was suddenly shy and unsure of what to do. It was fun to watch.  
Pheona looked up to see Lir looking at her, amusement in his golden eyes. She squealed and covered her face in embarrassment. "Everyone quit looking at me like that!"

Alabast and Centurion walked (well, one walked, the other slithered) through the forest, both of their expressions solemn.  
"I'm glad Amalthea was able to contact Lir." Alabast said, looking around for any signs of trouble.  
"Yes, but by the sounds of things this isn't just a local problem. Sinara forest is even effected." Centurion sighed.  
"I don't like that Pheona is traveling with a sorcerer." Alabast growled.  
"Amalthea seems fine with it." Centurion raised an eyebrow curiously. "He does not seem like a bad man."  
"He's a sorcerer." Alabast hissed angrily. "They burned down Avalon. I do not trust them."  
Centurion sighed and rolled his eyes. "You should learn a lesson from the centaurs- do not dwell on the past, instead look to the future."  
"But you learn mistakes from your experiences." Alabast looked up to the centaur. "The naga believe that in order to help make the future better, you must first learn the past mistakes you have made, to avoid making them again."  
Centurion sighed. "How did we ever become friends?" The centaur chuckled in amusement.  
Alabast grinned wryly. "Because our magi is far too considerate of others. Do you not remember?"  
Centurion looked up thoughtfully for a minute before laughing. "Ah yes, the ashevor incident."  
"Crazy bird snakes." Alabast muttered in annoyance as they continued their route around Avalon to search for any signs of poachers nearby.


	33. Chapter 33 Home Again

As they walked back through the pass, Keisin looked toward a mountain, looking thoughtful. "Do you think we could make a quick detour? It wouldn't take long."  
Pheona looked to where he was looking, seeing a small tower on the side of the mountain. "Is that your home?"  
"Was." Keisin said with a shrug. "Now it's wherever you are."  
Rynu groaned behind them as if in pain. "Are you two going to be like this the entire way home?"  
Keisin couldn't help but grin happily. "Only if it annoys you."  
Rynu grumbled, situating Medusa better around his shoulders. If these two were going to be like love doves for the next few weeks traveling back, he would probably puke before too much longer.  
"We can stop at your home if you want." Pheona said, smiling at Rynu's reaction as well. "But only if you lay off of Rynu."  
Keisin sighed. "Fine." He looked over at Rynu, who looked up, mouthing a thank you into the sky.

Keisin walked up to the snow covered door, brushing the white powder off the knob of the door before using his shoulder to open the large frame, which was frozen shut. The door shimmered with a golden glow as Kiesin snapped his fingers, the glow dissipating from the walls around the house.  
"Come on in, I just want to grab a few things." Keisin said, leading them into a large room with two massive chairs- one blue, and one brown. Both of them had stacks of books by them, the ones by the brown chair covered in a fine film of dust.  
"Just don't sit in the brown chair, okay?" Keisin said softly before hanging his robe up on a rack by the door, running up a flight of stairs to the second level, Russet trying to follow but unable to get up the first step. He chirped angrily as he started jumping to follow, his red wings flapping frantically. Pheona heard Keisin sigh from the upper level and came back down, picking Russet up and carrying him up the stairs with him, the small gryphon chirping happily.  
"Hey, check this out." Rynu whispered, walking over to Pheona holding a large journal. He opened it in front of her, revealing charcoal drawings. The first one was of a middle aged man with wild hair, sitting in the large brown chair reading, a fuzzy robe much like Keisin's draped over him. In the corner of the picture was a 'K'  
"Do you think Keisin drew this?" Pheona gasped in surprise. It was good!  
"He must have." Rynu muttered, flipping through more pages to see pictures of mountains, creatures in the snow, and more of the man.  
"That's where that is." Keisin said from the bottom of the stairs, smiling as Pheona and Rynu jumped in surprise.  
"I was looking for this." Keisin walked over, taking the journal and flipping to the first page before closing it with a sigh.  
"Did you draw all of those?" Pheona said, looking at him with wide eyes.  
"Yeah." Keisin blushed. "I know it's kind of weird for a sorcerer to draw, but it relaxes me."  
"I think it's cool." Pheona smiled.  
"It is pretty impressive." Rynu nodded, looking down at Russet as he watched Rynu warily, letting out a small growl before hiding behind Keisin's leg.  
They looked to a window as a loud whinny sounded from outside, Lir staring in at them with a bored expression.  
"I think he's getting impatient." Pheona chuckled.  
"Well, I have all I need." Keisin patted a sack he had in one hand. They walked over to the door, Keisin opening it and letting Rynu and Pheona go out first before looking back for a minute, pausing in the doorway as he looked inside.  
"You okay?" Pheona asked, wondering if he was alright with leaving his home like this. He might not ever come back.  
"Yeah." Keisin said, closing the door and sighing before walking forward with Pheona and Rynu.

"Alright, time to mount." Rynu said, shaking his aching feet in the middle of the day.  
"Good idea." Pheona sighed, feeling no better.  
"Ah, problem." Keisin said, looking at them as if they were crazy. "I don't have a horse."  
Lir stomped a foot into the snow, motioning his head to his back.  
"You can ride with Lir and I. He can carry us both pretty easily." Pheona said, patting Lir on the neck affectionately.  
_Damn straight I can. You humans are lightweights._ Lir laughed in Pheona's mind, dancing in place proudly.  
Pheona smiled. "Riding will be much faster than walking. It's a long way to Avalon from here."  
Keisin looked up at Lir uneasily. "I've never ridden anything before."  
"You'll do fine." Pheona chuckled.  
Rynu took two fingers to his mouth, letting out a loud piercing whistle. Keisin looked at him in shock, wondering why he had done that- but stopped when a black speck started flying toward them.  
Soon a large noctis enox landed on the ground, pacing impatiently as Rynu jumped on its back.  
"Hey Yin, thanks for waiting for so long" Rynu patted the creature on its neck as it flapped its wings restlessly. The creature let out a strange roaring whinny, stomping a clawed hoof on the ground.  
Lir bent to the ground to let Pheona climb onto his back. Pheona climbed up and waited for Keisin.  
"I don't know- he won't throw me off, will he?" Keisin looked at Lir, who snorted indignantly.  
_Only if you give me a reason to_.  
Pheona smiled and reached a hand down to him to help him up. "No, he won't. Come on, you'll be fine."  
Keisin took her hand, hoisting himself up so that he was mounted onto Lir, who stood up. Keisin stared at the ground suddenly several feet below his feet, not used to the feeling of not being on the ground.  
"Hang on to something." Pheona said as Lir waited for the noctis enox to take to the air.  
"Alright." Keisin said uneasily, wrapping his hands around Pheona's waist tightly. She squeaked in surprise and looked back expecting a wry smile, but only saw him burying his head into her back. She realized he was genuinely scared.  
Lir looked back and saw Keisin's reaction, rolling his eyes before starting into a gallop, trying to be as smooth as possible in his run.


	34. Chapter 34 Dark Dream

Lir slowed to a canter before stopping, looking back as Keisin dripped onto Pheona as if clinging for his life. The unicorn rolled his eyes and snorted, kneeling to allow Pheona and Keisin to climb off.  
"Hey- you have to let go now- we're stopping for the night." Pheona said with amusement as she tried to pry Keisin's arms from around her waist. Keisin sat up from burying his face into her hair, looking at the ground to see it was still.  
"Thank Gods." Keisin gasped, sliding down Lir's back with a groan of pain from his shaky legs. His thighs burned from riding all day, even though all he had been doing was sitting.  
"Your legs will probably be wobbly since you've never ridden a horse before. That'll go away in a bit." Pheona slid down Lir's back and walked around to pat him on the neck in thanks.  
_I have never known a human to be afraid of riding a unicorn before. That boy is very strange._ Lir said, amusement filling his voice.  
Pheona smiled and walked over to Keisin, who was sighing with relief as he stepped on the ground, walking in place a bit to get the feeling back in his feet.  
"That's a lot harder than it looks." Keisin said with surprise, looking back at Lir.  
"You get better at it with practice. Soon your legs won't hurt at all when you get off." Pheona smiled. She couldn't help but be amused. "Plus you'll get used to moving that fast."  
"I don't think I'll ever get used to moving that fast when I'm not the one moving myself." Keisin muttered, looking up as Rynu landed a ways away from them, his enox ending with a run as it folded its wings. Rynu dismounted and walked over as the enox took back to the air, restless to keep flying.  
"Thanks- I don't know how much more Yin could have gone with my weight." Rynu said, glancing back over to the enox as it flew away, flapping its wings lazily through the air.  
"Lir was starting to get a bit hot from the run." Pheona said, patting Lir reassuringly on the neck.  
Lir let out an indignant snort, whickering loudly in denial.  
Pheona chuckled and walked across the meadow they had stopped in, over into the trees at the far side. Keisin reached behind him and picked up Russet out of the hood of his robe, watching the hatching yawn sleepily in his arms before falling back asleep. He rolled his eyes and put the hatchling back in his hood, following Pheona.

"So, are you sad to leave the mountains?" Pheona looked over at Keisin after the sun had set, a small fire crackling in front of them.  
"Yeah, but I knew I needed to sometime." Keisin shrugged. He looked up at the mountains looming in the distance, their snow covered peaks far away.  
"Well, I'm glad you came with us." Pheona said with a blush. She laid down, looking at Rynu as he already slept on the far side of the fire. Keisin grinned happily and took Russet out of his hood before lying down as well, setting the small hatchling down nearby.  
"I am too." He muttered, before falling asleep.

_When Keisin awoke, all was black. He looked around the strange void, realizing Pheona and Rynu were nowhere around. He reached behind him into his hood, feeling Russet missing as well.  
"Hey! Where are you guys?" Keisin yelled into the void, turning around but seeing nothing anywhere around him.  
"They are not here, sorcerer." A low voice hissed behind him. Keisin turned around and yelled with shock as a huge serpent stared at him, its dark body curling in on itself. Red eyes stared at him in interest before looking away. "You are not the sorcerer I had hoped you would be. You are far too… weak."  
Keisin bared his teeth in anger at the statement. "And who the hell are you?"  
"I am called by many names." The serpent grinned, flashing sharp fangs. "None of which you are worthy to even mutter."  
Keisin clenched his hands, trying not to release the magic that his anger built inside him.  
"Oh, I feel that anger in you- you are filled with it. It seethes through you so quickly, powering your magic to far more than it would be otherwise." The serpent circled around him, slithering along some sort of unseen floor. "Do you not realize your own potential?"  
"I learned long ago that black magic is not to be taken lightly." Keisin said to the beast as it circled him slowly.  
"Ah, but it holds so many benefits. So much power. You are a sorcerer, do you not wish to be more powerful?"  
"Of course, but not for the reason you're thinking of."  
The serpent blinked in confusion, leaning down and looking at him closely. "And what other reasons are there?"  
"I want to get more powerful so that I can protect people." Keisin growled, not liking the situation he was in. How had he gotten here?  
"Ah yes, love." The serpent chuckled. "I have seen much about it."  
Keisin gasped with shock as a vision of a woman engulfed in flames filled his mind, her horrified screams filling the air as she fell to the wooden floor below. A small boy yelled angrily at his father, who erupted with a green flame before falling beside the woman.  
"It is something that is easily corrupted." The serpent hissed.  
Keisin saw a red haired woman smiling sweetly to him, and in the next instant her gaze filled with hatred as she raised a knife to him.  
"None of this matters. What matters is what's going on right now." Keisin said, more to himself than the serpent. He hated seeing these images- the strange faces in them somehow familiar.  
"Everything matters right now." The serpent chuckled. "You have not seen what I have planned. If you wish to stop me, you will have to be far stronger than you are now." The serpent laughed loudly, Keisin's vision filling with a forest in flames, a young girl screaming as she ran out of the fire in fear._

Keisin woke up with a yell of terror, gasping for breath as everyone woke from the sudden noise.  
"What's wrong?" Pheona sat up, looking at Keisin in concern.  
Keisin looked around him with wide eyes, clutching at his chest as if seeing he was still solid. "How the hell did I get back so quickly?"  
"Back from where? You never went anywhere." Pheona tilted her head in confusion.  
"Yes I did- it was black, there was a serpent. He showed me things- people dying, things burning, I had no idea where I was." Keisin said, his voice hitching in panic.  
"You just had a dream." Pheona said, moving closer to comfort him.  
"I can't dream- that's impossible." Keisin looked up at her with wild eyes as he tried to calm down.  
"You've never had a dream before? Ever?" Pheona gasped in shock.  
"No." Keisin said, gripping the amulet around his neck and sighing with relief when he saw it was still there.  
"Wonder what that means." Rynu said from across the fire thoughtfully. "He's never had a dream before, but now he does….?"  
Keisin shook his head, not knowing. "My father told me sorcerers can't dream. It has something to do with our souls not being in our body." He looked over at Pheona desperately. "Come here, please."  
Pheona moved closer to him, gasping in surprise when he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.  
"That scared the hell out of me. I don't think I like dreams." Keisin muttered, before releasing her. She was there, she was safe. That last vision of the forest burning had rung a little too close to home for his comfort.  
"It'll be okay." Pheona said, watching him in concern. She had never seen him this panicked before.  
"We'll talk about it in the morning. For now, try to get some sleep." Rynu said with a yawn, lying back down with a sigh.  
Keisin looked over to Pheona uneasily as she laid back down, scooting closer to her as he stared ahead of him at the ashes of the fire they had put out. He didn't know what having a dream meant, and he wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Either way, it made him feel uneasy.


	35. Chapter 35 Revelation

Rynu woke with a yawn, Medusa sliding off his shoulder and onto his lap as she remained asleep. He chuckled as he looked down at her, sliding the snake from his lap onto the grass beside him to let her sleep. She'd been through a lot yesterday, he figured she could use all the sleep she could get. He looked up in surprise when he heard muttering and splashing, looking up to see Keisin over at the river in the distance, his robe remaining by the camp. He remembered what had happened last night and decided to have a talk with him.

"Hey- you alright?" Rynu walked over to Keisin, who jumped in surprise.  
"Ah… uh, yeah." Keisin stammered. "I'm just not used to this whole 'dream' thing yet. It's pretty odd." Keisin splashed water onto his face again, which was bright red with red eyes.  
"Did you have another?" Rynu looked at Keisin's reaction, which was so different from last night's.  
Keisin looked over at his shoulder at him, his blush deepening. "Yeah. It was… uh… about Pheona."  
"Oh Gods, stop right there." Rynu cringed in disgust. "She's my cousin- I do NOT need to hear that."  
Keisin turned back around, splashing more water on his face to try and calm himself down. "Is she awake yet?"  
"No. If I know anything about Pheona, it's that she can sleep through a stampede of Delroch." Rynu snickered.  
"Good. I don't want her to see me like this." Keisin muttered, using his shirt to wipe the water off his face. "How do I stop these dreams? I don't like what they do to me."  
"You can't stop dreaming, I don't think. I just think it's odd that you started in the first place if you've never dreamed before in your life."  
"Me too, but I have no idea what it means." Keisin sighed, standing up and looking back over to the camp. "Don't tell her, but I'm kind of nervous of going to Avalon."  
"Why?" Rynu blinked in confusion.  
"I've never been anywhere except the mountains in my entire life. I don't know what the rest of the world is even like, but… I know it's important to leave at some point. It just makes me nervous."  
"Well, Avalon is a good goal to have. I've missed it ever since I left." Rynu said, then grinned softly. "Though I'm afraid that naga is going to be very unhappy to see me."  
Keisin looked back over to the camp when he heard Pheona yelling for them as she looked around. "Great, she's awake." He sighed, running a hand through his blond hair uneasily. "Is my face still red?"  
"Not that much." Rynu grinned wryly.  
Keisin sighed and walked back to camp, hoping that was good enough.  
Rynu looked down at the river and shrugged, figuring this was as good a time as any to wash up.

"Are you alright to keep riding back to Avalon today?" Pheona said, stretching sleepily as Keisin walked over.  
"Yeah, I think so." Keisin said uneasily as he glanced to her, then glanced away.  
"What, are you still afraid of riding Lir?" Pheona snickered as Lir whickered softly in annoyance. "He's really not that bad."  
"I know, I just… don't like how fast he runs." Keisin said, knowing it sounded like a lame excuse.  
"Are you alright?" Pheona said, leaning over to see his expression.  
"Yeah. I'm just wondering what that dream was about." Keisin sighed, remembering the forest burning, a girl screaming as she ran. "Especially the last part."  
"Well, maybe once we get back to Avalon, if you want Alabast to look at your dream he may be able to help."  
Keisin looked up in confusion. "Who's Alabast?"  
"My naga ally. He can look through your mind and see your dreams. Pretty useful if you have some confusing ones." Pheona said happily.  
Keisin didn't want to tell her that that might not be a good idea with the other dream he had had.  
"Are we going to get going?" Rynu said as he walked over to them, his long curly hair dripping with water as he held his shirt in his hands. His chest was covered in multiple scars, some layering over each other across his stomach.  
"Put your shirt on, Rynu." Pheona rolled her eyes.  
"Wait." Keisin stood, walking over and grabbing Rynu's left arm to look at his tattoo.  
"What?" Rynu said, trying to pull his arm out of Keisin's grip.  
"That's the serpent from my dream." Keisin pointed to the tattoo that wound up Rynu's arm, the black ink back to its former deep shade.  
"What?" Rynu looked down at the tattoo in shock. "He's not supposed to be in other people's heads."  
"Well that's definitely him, except in my dream his eyes were red, and his body was purple, not black." Keisin said, releasing Rynu's arm.  
"That's not good." Rynu muttered, putting his black shirt on to cover up the tattoo.  
"No, it's not." Pheona frowned. "We should get going though, I have a bad feeling about something."  
Keisin nodded and sighed, walking over to Lir to mount back up onto the unicorn and start traveling.

"This forest is way too silent." Pheona muttered uneasily as they ran through a thick forest, Lir whickering softly in agreement.  
"I don't feel anything different." Keisin looked up as he held onto Pheona's waist.  
"Well, I-" Pheona was cut off as arms sprung from the tree above her, gripping her shoulders and pulling her up into the leaves as she yelled in surprise.  
"PHEONA!" Keisin yelled, suddenly riding Lir by himself. Lir skidded to a stop, sending Keisin tumbling into the horses' neck.  
"Bandits!" Rynu said, flying Yin down to the ground. "Where's Pheona?"  
"I think they took her." Keisin growled, looking around with glowing eyes.  
"Well we have to get her back- I saw them heading deeper into the forest."  
Keisin didn't hesitate- he jumped off Lir's back, running further into the forest, leaving Lir and Rynu watching after him in surprise. 


	36. Chapter 36 Betrayal

Keisin ran through the forest, his anger seething through him as his body glowed with the golden tendrils of his magic, burning the trees around him wherever they touched. He saw a man in the distance and ran over to him, grabbing the shocked man by the cuff of his shirt and lifted him so that he was inches from Keisin's face.  
"Where's Pheona?" Keisin yelled at the man, his blue eyes narrowing threateningly.  
"Who?" The man gasped with shock.  
"Pheona- the woman you bandits took. Where is she?" Keisin hissed, impatient.  
"Lokune must have gotten her- he's over there!" The man pointed into the distance. Keisin growled in fury and let his power flare, sending the man flying into a tree before running in that direction.

"She keeps burning through the ropes!" A bandit yelled as he tied another rope around Pheona's wrists as she squirmed against their grip in terror, a cloth tied around her mouth preventing her from yelling.  
"Tie her with these, then." A man threw chains to the one binding Pheona, who grinned before tying her wrists tightly with the chain, preventing her from casting spells. She mumbled through the cloth loudly, her eyes wide as she looked around at them in fear.  
"She'll get us a pretty good price over in Raza." The man in charge chuckled, looking over when a loud crash sounded from the forest. The dozens of men in the clearing stood, grabbing weapons to fight anyone who came into the clearing.  
What they weren't expecting was to see a sorcerer burning with anger, his magic flying around him, causing his hair to float from the amount of magic filling the air around him. He looked around the clearing at the men and saw Pheona tied up, her eyes wide as she watched him pleadingly.  
Keisin snarled in anger, his fury flaring as he yelled and let his magic flare, engulfing the clearing in the golden light.  
Pheona flinched from the golden glow, watching as bright flares flashed within the glow, a man's horrified scream filling the air. Another sounded off, followed by another. Pheona whimpered in terror at the face on Keisin, shocked that he was capable of such horrible violence.  
The glow faded, revealing Keisin breathing heavily over a dead body of a man, the glow around him vanishing with a black spark. She couldn't help but think about the sorcerer that had caused the destruction of Avalon- maybe Keisin wasn't so different after all.  
He looked over to her and ran over, untying the cloth from around her mouth.  
"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern as he looked her over.  
"No, they didn't." Pheona said, unable to help the shaking that started when she looked around at the massacre he had caused. Dozens of men were dead- killed in a span of just a few minutes. "How could you do this?"  
"Do what?" Keisin asked in concern. "I saved you- they took you, and who knows what they would have done with you?"  
"You didn't need to kill them like that." Pheona said, looking down at the man who had fallen at her feet, the one that had tied the chains to her wrists.  
Keisin moved around her to untie her wrists, letting the chain fall to the ground. "What, you'd rather just be taken? What was I supposed to do?" He said, bitterness filling his voice.  
"No, but you didn't have to kill them. Just knock them out or something. But… you just tore them apart." Pheona moved away slightly from Keisin, her fear filling her with dread. He really was no different. He had killed with no sense of remorse, no idea of the terror he had caused.  
"Did you find-" Rynu ran into the clearing, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the destruction around him. He stared for a moment before looking up with shock at Keisin. He walked over to Pheona, seeing her shaking with wide eyes as she stood beside Keisin.  
"Come on, let's go Pheona." Rynu said, glancing warily to Keisin as he let Pheona away.  
Keisin watched them walk away, looking hurt and confused. He looked behind him and gasped as he realized what they had seen. Dozens of men lay dead on the ground, broken and burned from his magic. Keisin looked down at his hands, realizing what he had done.  
"Gods, maybe I'm not any different." He put a hand over his face in agony, his eyes wide. He watched Pheona walk away with Rynu, knowing now what she had seen. No wonder she had started shaking like that.  
He walked away from the scene, falling against a tree as he realized he had just gone against everything he had ever been taught- everything he had ever believed in. Was it really so easy to turn so evil? He flinched as his chest tightened, emotions overtaking him as he buried his face in his hands.  
If it was really so easy to be what the woman he loved feared, then he didn't want to risk it. He walked further into the forest until he was far away from the scene, unlatching the amulet from around his neck. He stared at the amulet as it revolved from the chain it hung from, the names of his ancestors etched onto the back. He had betrayed them all. He choked with pain as he took his amulet, throwing it far into the forest as darkness took him over, causing him to fall to the ground.


	37. Chapter 37 Kirin's Rage

Rynu led Pheona away from the forest and into the clearing Lir was still standing in. He turned her around as he heard her sob softly, looking at her in concern. He watched her uneasily as tears fell down her cheeks, biting her lip to try and keep from crying.  
"I'm sorry that happened, Pheona." Rynu sighed, hugging her tightly. "He was probably just upset that you had been taken, and went a little overboard. He cares about you a lot, you know."  
"I'm scared. I don't know what to do." Pheona whispered, her voice shaking.  
_What has happened?_ Lir walked over to Pheona, looking down at her.  
"Keisin killed them all. He killed all those men…" Pheona said, burying her face in Rynu's shirt.  
Lir blinked in shock and looked out into the forest, then back down to Pheona. _Where is he?  
_"Why should I care?" Pheona sobbed. "He's just like all the others. I thought he was different, but he's not."  
_You know that is not true._ Lir said firmly. He stomped a hoof on the dirt floor to emphasize his point.  
Pheona looked over at him with a glare. "Why are you so intent of Keisin and I being together?"  
Lir hesitated, not wanting to answer. _Because it is for your own good._  
"Who are you talking to?" Rynu looked down at her, starting to really worry.  
"I've been able to talk to Lir since the kirin." Pheona said softly. "But he can't talk to anyone else, apparently."  
_I can talk to them, it is a matter of them hearing me or not._ Lir said matter-of-factly.  
Pheona sighed, moving away from Rynu. "We'll leave when he gets back. Until then, I guess we'll just camp for the night." Pheona walked over to the middle of the clearing, starting to gather sticks to build a small fire.  
Rynu and Lir glanced at each other in concern, but followed.

Russet sat by Pheona, looking worried as he watched the forest. He growled softly, lying down on the ground, looking up at Pheona with wide pleading green eyes.  
"Please don't look at me like that, I don't know where he is." Pheona said sadly, not able to help but worry a bit herself. She didn't know how she should feel toward him, but she was at least a little concerned that he hadn't come back, and it was starting to get dark. The fact that Keisin had left Russet behind with Lir had spoken a lot of how worried he was when she had been taken. He hadn't even thought to bring the hatchling along. Or did he think it was too dangerous? She didn't even know how he would act anymore…  
"We'll see if he's back by morning. If he's not, then we'll talk about what to do then. Try to get some sleep." Rynu said softly to Pheona, who nodded and laid down without saying anything else.  
Rynu looked over at Pheona and sighed, lying down as well. He didn't like to see her unhappy, and he knew the only one that could cheer her up was Keisin. He gritted his teeth in frustration, hoping that idiot would get back soon and fix things. Russet chirped sadly, looking down at Pheona as she slept before running off into the forest.

When the sun rose, Rynu sat up to see Pheona already awake, staring into the fire in front of her. He looked around, but saw Keisin still wasn't there. He growled in frustration and stood, looking down at Pheona as she didn't move. He noticed the small indentation in the snow from Russet, and followed the hatchling's tracks into the forest. Russet must have run off to try and find Keisin. He sighed in frustration and looked over to Pheona.  
"I'll be right back." Rynu said, waiting for a response, but all she did was nod slightly. He sighed and walked into the forest, deciding that if Keisin wasn't going to come back on his own, then he would search for him and try to convince him to come back.

Rynu walked through the forest, Medusa hissing against his cheek as he walked.  
_I have not seen Pheona so upset in a long time. Do you think she feels the same for Keisin?_  
"She might, but she won't admit it." Rynu sighed. Pheona was too damn stubborn for her own good.  
_Humans are very confusing when it comes to mating. I do not understand it._ Medusa hissed and laid her head back down in frustration.  
Rynu chuckled and nodded, looking around the forest. He walked over to the men in the clearing, seeing with some surprise that someone had buried them. He looked around, but saw no one around among the dense forest. He looked down and saw footprints in the dirt of the forest floor walking away from the clearing. He followed them over to a tree, noticing the steps stopped and then continued. He walked through the forest following the footprints until he came upon a large tree, walking over to the other side to see Keisin lying on the ground unconscious. Russet sat curled up in his lap, his large green eyes wide with fear and sadness.  
"Hey- wake up." Rynu tapped Keisin's shoulder with his foot gently, but the man only slumped to the side.  
Rynu rolled his eyes and leaned down, taking Keisin by the shoulders and shaking him slightly, stopping when he realized Keisin wasn't breathing.  
"Oh shit." Rynu said, looking down at Keisin with wide eyes. Had he been killed? What the hell had happened to him?  
_He is not dead._ Rynu turned around at the deep voice, staring at the large kirin behind him. _Alice told me of your group.  
_Rynu stood frozen, staring at the autumn kirin as it walked toward him, its red and black coat shimmering in the morning light, the golden hair falling down its neck blowing in the breeze. It looked down at Keisin, tilting its head in confusion before looking toward Rynu.  
_Unfortunately, I cannot help you any further. Alice has already touched you with our magic, and so I feel that is enough interference for now. Your kind and ours are at an impasse currently, and I am not quite so forgiving as my mate._ The kirin snorted in anger, a cloven hoof pawing the ground slightly, raising a small amount of dirt when it normally would not disturb the ground at all.  
"Uh… how do I wake him up if he's not dead?" Rynu looked down at Keisin, hoping it wouldn't involve too much magic.  
_Ask the woman. Is she not his mate?_ The kirin motioned toward the clearing Rynu had come from, where Pheona still sat.  
"No, not anymore I don't think." Rynu said, wondering how the kirin knew so much about them.  
_I see. Well either way, she will know how to wake him up. Though by his thoughts, I am not sure he will be very happy if you do. He did this on purpose._ The kirin looked down at Keisin, his black eyes thoughtful. _The thought of being evil drove him to destroy himself. I have not seen another sorcerer like him since I was but a fawn._  
"Wait- he did this to himself?" Rynu said in surprise.  
_Yes. He believed that he had turned evil, corrupted by Isildre._ The kirin shook its head with a sigh. _That demon is getting far too powerful.  
_Rynu looked down at his shoulder uneasily, knowing exactly what the kirin was talking about. "Is there a way to stop Isildre?"  
_Of course. But you will need all the help you can get. The only way to stop the demon is to destroy that which he has corrupted. Anything tainted by the demon cannot be trusted to be good again.  
_Rynu tried not to look too crushed at the statement. That meant the only way to destroy the demon was to…  
He would think about that later.  
"Alright, well- so I probably have to go get Pheona?" Rynu looked over to the clearing, not looking forward to trying to convince her to come with him.  
_It is for the best. _The kirin watched him for a minute before tilting its head thoughtfully. _Come here, Rynu of Avalon. You have the taint of Isildre running through your veins. I think it fitting you be allowed a little more help than my mate provided you._ The kirin waited for Rynu as he walked over.  
Rynu walked toward the kirin uneasily, noticing with amusement that this kirin had a much different temper than the other- his eyes were gentle, but held a rage behind them that told he was much more fierce about protecting his forest than the other kirin had been.  
_Kneel and please expose his mark._ The kirin motioned toward Rynu's arm.  
Rynu kneeled on the ground, raising his sleeve uneasily, exposing the dark tattoo running along his arm. The kirin made a strange and terrifying noise of anger, stomping a cloven hoof onto Rynu's arm, making him cry out with pain. He looked down at his numbed arm, noticing a strange swirling mark around the serpent.  
_Those who cursed you with the serpent's taint have now been punished. I must go now Rynu, but if you ever have need of me within this forest, simply call out the name Zarkash, and I will arrive as soon as I am able._ The kirin watched him for a minute with interest before turning and walking into the forest, glancing back at him one last time before disappearing behind a tree.  
Rynu looked down at the tattoo on his arm, the swirling vortex that surrounded the dragon glowing with a strange bright green light. He lowered his shirt and looked down at Russet as the hatchling watched the whole scene with interest, nestled between Keisin's legs.  
"Stay here, I'm going to go get Pheona." Rynu stood with a sigh. "She's not going to be happy."

"Another kirin?" Pheona said in disbelief. "Maybe they're not as rare as I thought they were.  
_There are, I told you creatures are attracted to me._ Lir said smugly.  
Pheona couldn't help but roll her eyes at his vanity. "So he wants me to come and help Keisin? What's wrong with him?"  
"He won't wake up. No matter how loud I yell, even when I hit him on the shoulder he won't wake up." Rynu said, looking back into the forest. Pheona couldn't believe it, but she thought she saw concern in her cousin's eyes.  
"I think I know what's wrong." Pheona stood with a sigh, not wanting to see Keisin again so soon. "Alright, where is he?" She asked softly, following Rynu into the forest to help Keisin.


	38. Chapter 38 Awakening

Pheona walked over to where Keisin's body lay slumped against a tree, looking down at him sadly. His expression was filled with such pain, and her chest twisted when she realized she had caused it.  
"He needs his amulet." Pheona motioned to the missing necklace from the sorcerer's neck. "It should be within throwing distance."  
Rynu looked down at Keisin and put a palm to his face in frustration. "Don't know why I didn't think of that." He muttered as he began walking around, searching the ground for the amulet. Pheona kneeled next to Keisin, looking at him thoughtfully. Rynu had said he had done this to himself, though she had no idea why. Why would Keisin ever throw his amulet away, knowing how important it was to him? It was almost like killing himself.  
She looked down at Russet, the hatchling watching her expectedly, as if waiting for her to wake him up.  
"I can't wake him up without his amulet." Pheona explained to the small creature, which tilted its head in confusion with a chirp.  
"His amulet- the shiny thing he wears around his neck." Pheona pointed to Kieisn's neck. The gryphon let out a loud trill and ran off into the forest, running around. Pheona sighed, not knowing whether or not Russet had understood her. She looked back over to Keisin, watching his pained expression before sighing.  
"I'm sorry I made you do this." She whispered, glancing behind her, but seeing Rynu searching for the amulet deeper into the forest. She turned back to Keisin, moving closer to him. "You really were just trying to save me, weren't you? I don't really know what having that much power is like, but it can't be easy to control." She sighed, cautiously running a hand through his blond hair. She watched with shock as his expression softened, looking like he was just sleeping now.  
"Keisin?" Pheona said with surprise, moving away slightly and shaking him gently by his shoulders. "Are you awake?" She asked, her voice hitching with surprise as he opened his eyes.  
"What?" Keisin looked up at her and sighed. He reached his hand to his neck and sighed sadly. "Right, it worked then."  
"What worked?" Pheona said, her voice barely more than a squeak with shock. "How are you awake?"  
"What the hell do you mean? I'm dead." Keisin growled in frustration. "That's why you're here, right?"  
Pheona blinked in surprise. "You're not dead."  
Keisin looked around, seeing Rynu and Russet running around in the distance. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Well I definitely can't be dead, because those two definitely wouldn't be in heaven. Well, maybe Russet, but definitely not Rynu."  
"Heaven?" Pheona said with shock. "You're not dead!" She said insistently.  
"Prove it." Keisin glared at her. "I threw my amulet, figuring it would be long enough without my soul for me to die. How can I not be dead?"  
Pheona held out a single finger to his hand, making the tip of her finger burning hot. Keisin yelped with pain, his eyes widening in realization.  
"I'm not dead." He said in a whisper.  
"What's what I've been trying to tell you." Pheona sighed with frustration.  
Keisin looked up at Pheona, his blue eyes filled with pain. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not anymore."  
"Why would it ever be a bad thing?" Pheona whispered with shock.  
"Because I don't want you to look at me like that ever again." Keisin said sadly. "You're terrified of me- I saw it in your eyes."  
Pheona looked at the ground uneasily. She knew she couldn't deny that. She was still kind of afraid of him, though she knew why he had killed those men. "I'm just scared of the amount of power you have."  
Keisin sighed, looking down at his hands. "I can't help it if I lose control sometimes. Don't you lose control of your magic at all?"  
Pheona bit her lip and nodded, remembering the time she had almost burned down the Brotherhood's castle in Synara city.  
Keisin put a hand up to his forehead in frustration. "Because of the amount of magic I have, when I lose control, it's a bit more… volatile than you or Rynu when you guys lose control. I can't help it, it's what I was born into." Keisin looked up at her with sad eyes. "I know you hate sorcerers, and I know I had told you I was different, but I don't know if I am different anymore. I'm just afraid that you can't ever be around me if you're terrified of me all the time."  
Pheona nodded softly. "I know my past causes me to be afraid, and I know that frustrates you. You're a good man, and I should be able to be fine with what you are, but… it's hard for me."  
Keisin looked to the ground bitterly. "Then I don't see how this is going to work. I hate seeing you afraid. If I'm the one you're scared of, then maybe it would be best if I left."  
He looked up when he heard her sniffle, flinching when he saw tears in her eyes. "Please don't leave me." She whispered. "I'm sorry I'm such a cry baby lately, and I'm sorry I'm always so scared or angry. I just don't know how to act. I haven't felt this way in a long time, and it scares me."  
Keisin looked up at her in surprise and sighed. "I can't read your mind, Pheona. I don't know how you're feeling."  
"I think you're the most wonderful man I've ever met, and even though you're a sorcerer and that scares me, I want to get to know you more." She whispered softly. "I just don't know how anymore. Not since…" She looked away in shame. "I don't want a repeat of my last relationship."  
Keisin shook his head. "You know I would never do that."  
"I know." She looked up at him.  
"Are you two about done?" Rynu said wryly from behind Pheona. She made a small squeak of surprise and turned around to see him holding Keisin's amulet, his arms crossed with a wry grin.  
"He didn't really need this thing, did he? Was that all just a ploy to get me away so you could talk to him?"  
"No, I really did need it. I… guess I don't anymore." Keisin looked down at himself with interest. "That would explain the dreaming."  
"You sorcerers are confusing. Here." Rynu tossed the amulet down to Keisin, who caught it gently. "Put it on anyway, just to be safe."  
Keisin looked down at the amulet in confusion, Pheona leaning over to inspect it as well.  
"It's not swirling anymore." She said with shock.  
"What do you mean?" Keisin turned it in the light, seeing nothing but the same blue stone. No chips, no cracks, it was still perfectly smooth.  
"It used to swirl with all kinds of different shades of blue. Now it's just a normal stone." Pheona looked up at Keisin, who watched her intently. She looked into his eyes for the first time, noticing that they were swirling with shades of blue, as if his eyes couldn't decide on a particular color.  
"I think I know what the kirin did to your amulet, Keisin. She gave you your soul back."


	39. Chapter 39 ConBon

Keisin looked down at his amulet in realization. "You must be right. That's the only way to explain everything. Waking up without my amulet, the dream about the serpent, and-" Keisin looked up and glanced away. "Everything else."  
"Either way, we need to get going." Rynu sighed. "Are you two okay, then?" He looked at them both.  
"I don't know- am I?" Keisin looked up at Pheona cautiously. She knew what he was really asking- 'do you still want me to come with you?'  
"I think so." Pheona whispered and stood up. She watched as Russet tackled Keisin happily, his small red wings fluttering quickly.  
"Alright." Keisin held the small hatchling away from his face, watching Russet chirp excitedly as he stood up. His legs wobbled as he stood, making him groan in pain from the stiffness of the muscles. "Maybe I overdid it a little."  
Pheona walked over and put one of his arms around her shoulder for support, looking up at him shyly before helping him walk back over to the camp, Rynu following behind with a sigh. His cousin was far too stubborn.

"So how far is it until we reach this place?" Keisin sighed against Pheona's back as they rode Lir down a road, occasionally passing other travelers on the path. They must be getting close to a city- there were more and more people passing them as they traveled.  
"Well we just passed Arkene. Synara isn't much further." Pheona said, looking back at him. He hadn't put his arms around her for support like last time. Instead he just rode behind her, feeling tense and uneasy. "Are you okay?"  
"Yeah." Keisin sighed. "I'm just annoyed with myself."  
Pheona bit her lip nervously, looking back forward. He didn't really know why Keisin was being so distant with her, but she figured he was just giving her some space. He had been pretty hurt that she was afraid of him- more so than she ever could have expected. A small part of her was strangely happy at how much her reaction had affected him. It must mean he really cares a lot.  
"Hey." Keisin looked up at her small smile. "What are you thinking about?"  
"You." Pheona said softly, looking back at him.  
"Well, you're smiling. That's a good sign." Keisin said in relief, relaxing a bit behind her. "You're not still angry with me?"  
"When was I angry with you?" Pheona looked back at him in surprise. "Scared yeah, shocked yeah, but never angry."  
Keisin laughed in disbelief. "And here I thought you had been angry with me for some reason. I think we need to communicate better."  
Pheona smiled softly. "That does seem to be an issue. We'll have to work on that."  
Keisin sighed, slipping his arms around her waist, making her close her eyes happily. She did like his arm arms wrapped around her. It made her feel safe.  
"You're not scared of me still?" He whispered against her shoulder.  
"Not when you're like this." Pheona smiled. "Just when you get angry."  
"Well then you'd better not make me angry." Keisin said teasingly, squeezing his arms a bit to make her squeak.  
Pheona watched a woman run up the road, her long white hair swinging behind her as she ran. "I know that hair anywhere!" Pheona jumped off Lir, making Keisin fall off with a yell of surprise, falling to the dirt behind her.  
"Oh! Are you okay?" Pheona turned around as Lir whickered in confusion, wondering why they had suddenly both jumped off him.  
Keisin spat out dirt and looked up at her. "Next time you decide to leap off Lir, give me a warning first." He said, his voice rough as he stood and brushed himself off.  
The woman ran up to them, huffing for breath as she stopped in front of them.  
"Marina!" Pheona hugged the woman tightly, who wheezed at the tight grip.  
"Good to see you too, Pheona." Marina said from within her grip and gasped as she let her go. "I heard you were on this road- I thought I would meet you here. Conintor wants to see you as soon as you can get there. Did you find out what's going on?" Marina asked, looking over Pheona's houlder at Keisin as he brushed the last of the dirt from his robe. "Who's that guy?"  
"He's Keisin." Pheona smiled, looking back at him. "Here-" Pheona ran over and dragged Keisin over to Marina. "Keisin, this is Marina. Marina, Keisin."  
"Ah, hi." Keisin said uneasily, looking to Pheona.  
"She's one of my friends. I guess that means we're going to meet Con, then. He'll be happy to see Rynu back to normal, I think."  
"Where is he, anyway?" Keisin looked up in the sky. "I don't see him."  
Pheona looked back down the road, seeing Rynu lead Yin down the path. "Uh-oh, it looks like something happened."  
"Sorry guys, I think Yin is too tired to fly much longer." Rynu said, patting the enox on its neck soothingly. "He started panting pretty heavy earlier, so I decided to land."  
"Uh… Pheona…" Marina pointed to Rynu in question. "Aren't you mad at him?"  
"Whatever happened in the past is in the past. I'm trying to move on." Pheona said softly, glancing at Keisin meaningfully. He smiled and nodded gently, recognizing what she was saying.  
Marina watched Rynu warily. "Alright, if you say so. Well either way, let's go see Conintor. He has a… buddy over again, so I think we should probably knock first."  
"Ah, yeah." Pheona snickered as Rynu blanched. Keisin looked at their reactions, sighing in confusion.

"Hey Con?" Pheona rapped on the wooden door to the building. "It's Pheona!"  
A loud yell sounded from inside, followed by hurried muttering. Soon enough the door opened, revealing Conintor with mussed up hair and a red face. "Lass! I'm glad to see you." The large man enveloped her in a hug, lifting her off the ground for a moment before releasing her. He looked at the others, his eyes stopping on Rynu and darkening.  
"Hey, Con." Rynu said cautiously, looking up at him sheepishly.  
Conintor's gaze softened, instead looking confused. "Well come on in everyone. No need to stand out there in the dusty streets." Conintor led them all inside, stopping when Keisin walked in behind Pheona.  
"Hold on a minute, lad." Conintor stopped Keisin with a hand to his chest. "Who are you?"  
"He's with me." Pheona called from inside.  
Conintor looked over at Pheona in surprise and looked back at Keisin with a wary expression. "With? As in…"  
"Yeah." Keisin said, trying to look confident. The man was tall- impressively so, and wide as well. It made Keisin feel insubstantial.  
The man's wary eyes turned suspicious, taking his hand away and allowing Keisin inside. "Be careful with my Pheona, lad."  
Keisin nodded, unable to help but feel a little intimidated by the reactions of Pheona's friends and family. He would just have to earn his place.  
"Hey Con-bon, is Pheona alright?" A male voice said from the bedroom.  
"Ah… Yeah, and she brought friends." Conintor looked over at the bedroom in panic, his face flushing.  
Pheona and Marina giggled as Rynu groaned in pain.  
"Who was that?" Keisin looked over at the bedroom curiously.  
"Billy-her, William." Conintor said, his blush deepening. "I didn't know you kids would be coming here."  
"It's okay." Pheona smiled. "I'm glad you two are still together."  
Rynu rolled his eyes in dismay. "Can we please get to the task at hand? What did you need, Conintor?"  
"Ah, right." Conintor walked over to a bookshelf at the other side of the room, opening a book and taking out a paper.  
"This came for you while you were gone, lass . Told the messenger I would pass it on to you, so here you go." Conintor handed the paper to Pheona, who looked down at it curiously.  
"This is an invitation." Pheona looked down at it in confusion. "There's going to be a masquerade in town. Why would I want to go to this?" Pheona chuckled. "I hate parties."  
Rynu looked at the invitation from over Pheona's shoulder. "I think we should go. Demetre's always at that party. If we get close enough to him, we may be able to ask a few questions."  
Pheona sighed, her shoulders drooping. "Great. That's all I need right now. Alright, I guess we'll have to."


	40. Chapter 40 The Deal

Keisin looked around the forest they were walking through, the light glittering through the trees as they walked. It was a beautiful sight, he had to admit.  
"She's here!" A man yelled loudly through the forest, startling quite a few creatures that were resting among the trees. He stared as a large centaur galloped over to them, nodding to Lir in greeting.  
"I am glad to see you back safe, Pheona. We have much to discuss."  
"Lir already told me about a lot of it." Pheona nodded to the unicorn, who whickered wryly.  
"L-lir told you?" The centaur paused in confusion.  
"Oh yeah- a kirin made it so I can hear Lir now. Cool, huh? So what's going on?" Pheona looked around the keep, seeing things were mostly normal.  
"Avalon is safe for now, but I fear the forest is in grave danger. The kirin was killed. The guardian is now gone, and so the forest is fading quickly. Unless we find a way to fix it, I fear Avalon may fade as well." Centurion said solemnly.  
Pheona blinked in shock, looking to Lir. "You knew the kirin was killed?"  
Lir paused and nodded cautiously. Pheona sighed and put a hand to her face in frustration. "What's the use of being able to talk to you if you don't tell me anything?"  
Lir snorted and stomped a hoof to the ground. _I did not want you to worry any more than you already were.  
_Pheona sighed, knowing he was right. She probably would have worried the entire trip home.  
"He has a point, Pheona. Either way, the frost unicorn from the forest is safe in the herd- Amalthea is caring for him."  
Lir's head lifted in interest at the mention of his mate. He paced impatiently, looking to Pheona urgently.  
"Go see her you big softie." Pheona sighed, smiling in amusement. Lir whickered happily and ran into the forest to find Amalthea.  
"Hello, Pheona." Alabast slithered forward beside Centurion. "It is good to see you again. I trust your journey went well?" The naga shook her hand in polite greeting, looking over her shoulder at the men with a dark glare. "I know Rynu, but who is this strange man traveling with you?"  
"That's Keisin. We met him in Alasre mountains. He'll be staying with us…" She paused, glancing back at him. "Until he sees fit to leave."  
"Which is never." Rynu muttered.  
Keisin elbowed the man hard in the side to shut him up, walking forward to introduce himself. "I am Keisin, son of Lourn of the Alasre mountains." He reached out his hand to shake the naga's.  
Alabast's eyes narrowed warily. "I have heard of Lourn of Alasre. You are a sorcerer." He hissed.  
"Yes, I am." Keisin said, glancing to Pheona. "I am not the type of sorcerer you are accustomed with."  
"Obviously not." Alabast frowned in confusion. He glanced to Pheona, surprised by her fierce expression. "Very well. If Pheona welcomes you to our keep, then so do I." Alabast bowed politely, glancing up to Centrion before slithering back into the forest.  
Centurion watched the naga leave and rolled his eyes in dismay. "Do not mind him, sorcerer. You are welcome to our home. Alabast is… far too wary." Centurion looked down to Pheona. "Now my ally, what will we do to next about this problem?"  
"Well, I suppose there's a masquerade coming up, and I guess we should try to go to it and find Demetre. It seems Rynu thinks he has some answers for our questions." Pheona looked back to her cousin, who nodded.  
"He is the one who cursed me with this mark. He's in charge of many of the Brotherhood in this region, so if anyone will know what's going on with dark magic, he will." Rynu nodded.  
"But then he knows you- how will we get to him?" Keisin looked back at Rynu skeptically.  
"He knows Pheona too." Rynu grinned at her as she blushed shyly.  
"I… lost my temper with him once. I almost burned down their building."  
"Almost?" Rynu laughed.  
"Great, so how are we supposed to get near him if he knows _both_ of you?" Keisin sighed.  
"Well… he doesn't know you." Pheona said suggestively.  
"Ooooh no, I'm not getting that close to someone who uses dark magic like that- not after the other day." Keisin raised his hands defensively.  
"Please?" Pheona pouted dramatically, her eyes widening pleadingly.  
"If you go, you'll get to see her in a dress." Rynu leaned over and whispered to Keisin, whose eyebrows raised in interest.  
"What kind of dress?" He whispered back.  
"The only kind there are for magi." Rynu snickered, making Pheona look at them both with confusion.  
"What are you two muttering about?" She said in frustration.  
"Nothing- I'll do it, but only on one condition." Keisin looked over at Pheona with a grin.  
"What?" Pheona blinked in surprise at his suddenly warm expression. It made her stomach do little uncomfortable flips.  
"You have to go with me, and dance with me at least once." Keisin said, grinning wryly. "And I don't mean dancing for a minute or two. It has to be an entire song."  
Pheona scoffed, looking up at Centurion as the centaur chuckled. "Don't encourage him!"  
"I like this sorcerer. He is cunning." The centaur laughed and walked back into the forest, leaving the humans to discuss the details.  
"I-I don't know how to dance- I can't." Pheona stammered, her face flushed.  
"I can teach you." Keisin shrugged. "My dad taught me."  
"Your dad taught you how to dance?" Rynu said in amusement.  
"He said it was an important life skill. Apparently he was right." Keisin shrugged.  
"I… I guess I can agree to that." Pheona said softly.  
"Good." Keisin grinned happily. "Now, I guess I'll have to unpack my things, and then we'll have to get think of what we'll need to have for the masquerade. When is it?"  
Pheona took the paper out of her pouch and opened it. "About a week from now."  
Keisin looked up thoughtfully. "That's not much time. Well, I guess we'll have to hurry." Keisin looked around the forest at the thousands of animals staring at him, little Russet inside his hood hiding behind his head, peaking from under his blond hair uneasily.  
"How do you have so many creatures?" He said in shock, looking at the thousands of phoenix flying through the forest. He was amazed none of them made the trees catch on fire.  
"It's a keep." Pheona shrugged, grabbing his wrist and guiding him toward the large cabin in the middle of the keep.


	41. Chapter 41 Dancing Lessons

"This will be your room." Pheona opened the door to a small room in the second level of the wooden cabin. It had a bed with a red and golden comforter on it, thick pillows and a tall thick chair in the corner. A small bookcase held a small number of books, leaning against the side of the top shelf.  
"Where's your room?" Keisin looked over at Pheona curiously.  
"Next door." Pheona blushed, looking toward the ground shyly. "I figured you wouldn't want to be too far away."  
Keisin smiled happily and pointed toward the comforter, the colors seeping and swirling until it was a bright silver, blue and white in the same patterns.  
"Sorry babe, but I'm no fire sorcerer. Red may look good on you, but not on me." He grinned back at her, making her blush more.

Rynu opened the door to his old room, realizing with some pain that Pheona had rebuilt Avalon completely as it used to be. He walked into the room, looking around with shock as he realized it looked exactly as it had before Avalon had burned so many years ago. He looked down on the bed, gasping when he saw a familiar necklace lying on the black sheets. He sat down and picked up his mother's locket, opening it to see a picture of her inside. He looked up at the sound of Pheona and Keisin's voice, shocked that his cousin had never told him how much she had missed him. It was the only explanation for keeping his room the same. She had known he would come back.

"I-I'm not sure about this." Pheona stood outside the cabin, the green grass below her bare feet making her squirm uneasily. She usually wore shoes for a reason- the ground felt cold beneath her toes.  
"Just calm down." Keisin rolled his eyes. "It's pretty simple. Imagine a band playing." Keisin walked over to her, ignoring Alabast and Centurion as they watched curiously.  
"I… I've never really heard more than one person playing at once." She said softly.  
Keisin rolled his eyes. "Gods, you need to get out more. Alright, I'll be right back." He sighed and walked back into the cabin, running up the stairs.  
"See? I told you." Centurion grinned wryly to Alabast.  
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." The naga said in annoyance. "Doesn't mean I like it, though."  
"What are you two rambling about?" Pheona turned around with a flush.  
"Human mating is an interesting topic, dear magi. We are merely discussing the mating habits of your species." Alabast said simply.  
Pheona's flush reddened so much it threatened to spill onto her neck. "I'm not mating with him!"  
"Not yet." Centurion muttered and laughed.  
Pheona scoffed in disbelief as Keisin walked back over to her, looking at her red face in confusion.  
"What happened?" He looked over at the two humanoids as they snickered.  
"Nothing boy, just teach the girl how to dance so we can get on with our lives." Centurion grinned.  
Keisin shrugged, putting down a small globe on the ground.  
"What's your favorite instrument?" Keisin asked Pheona, kneeling next to the orb.  
"Uh… violin?" She said, looking at it curiously.  
"Alrighty." Keisin said, putting a hand over the glass of the orb and concentrating for a moment. Everyone else jumped in surprise as music started to play from the orb, heavy in strings and harmonics.  
"How did you do that?" Pheona gasped as she looked down at the orb.  
"I'll explain later." Keisin said, walking back over to her and standing in front of her. "Now put your arms on my shoulders."  
"What?" She looked up at him in surprise, glancing over at Centurion and Alabast as they watched.  
Keisin sighed in patiently and put her hands on his shoulders, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Try to follow me as best you can, alright?"  
"Wait- wha-!" Pheona squeaked in surprise as he started twirling them around, dancing to the beat of the music. He paused as the music stopped for a minute, looking at her shocked face.  
"You alright?" He asked with a grin.  
"Yeah." Pheona looked up at him and looked down at his feet to try and follow better.  
"You know what? Forget it. Just go with it for now." Keisin said, smiling mischievously. He twirled her around again, dancing around the clearing, his grip tightening on her waist. "Ready?" He asked her as he paused in his step.  
"For what?" She gasped in terror, wondering what he was planning next. He only smiled, twirling one last time before letting go of her, using his magic to float her into the air as she twirled, bringing her back to him, sliding his arms back around her and dipping her down low to the ground.  
"How do you feel?" He smiled at her mussed up hair.  
"That was awesome." She said in a dazed voice. "I didn't know you could do that."  
"I probably can't at the party, but as long as we're here I can show off all I want for you." He ignored the other male's stares and kissed the tip of her nose softly. "That is, if you want me to."  
"I suppose I could live with it." Pheona sighed dramatically as he stood them back up.  
"Alright, back to business. Try to follow my steps this time." Keisin laughed as she had trouble standing, wobbling and falling against him, laughing dizzily.

"How much more of that do we have to do?" Pheona said as the sun started setting, her feet sore from dancing.  
"Until you get it right." Keisin looked over at her. "Though you did pretty good. You learn fast."  
"Thanks." Pheona smiled, remembering how many times he had spun her into the hair just to see her laugh again. She loved the feeling of spinning through the sky- it made her feel like one of her phoenix, able to fly away at any given moment.  
"You and Marina will have to go out tomorrow to pick your outfits. Where do guys get their outfits?" Keisin looked over at her curiously.  
"Rynu will be able to show you where. You should go with him." Pheona lay back against the grass, sighing with content. For a minute, she was willing to forget about the poaching, the troubles, her past, and just lay there in the grass feeling the cool breeze blow through her hair.  
She looked over at Keisin as he laid down next to her, rolling over so that she was trapped beneath his arm, his face looking down at hers.  
"So, are you happy?" He asked softly.  
"About what?" She asked, unable to help but blush at his sudden closeness.  
He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Are you still scared of me?" He asked, sounding suddenly uneasy.  
"No." Pheona smiled up at him.  
"Good." Keisin smiled and leaned down, kissing her gently. She hummed softly in happiness and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.  
He broke the kiss and smiled down at her, leaning his forehead against hers for a minute before rolling back over with a loud sigh of relief.  
"Do you think we'll be okay at the masquerade?"  
"I'll try to keep my hands off you. No guarantees." Keisin moved his head to the side to smile at her wryly.  
"That's not what I meant." Pheona blushed. "Do you think we'll be able to get Demetre to tell us anything?"  
Keisin sighed, turning onto his side so he could see her easier. "The best we can do is try."  
Pheona nodded, biting her lip anxiously.


	42. Chapter 42 We Match!

Keisin and Rynu walked through Synara, watching the hustle and bustle of the city.  
"This place is always moving so fast." Keisin sighed. "It makes me tired just watching some of these people."  
"That's the city for you. Never a dull moment." Rynu looked up at the shop in front of them, noticing with some annoyance that it was filled with people. "Here we go. Gods, this is why I hate shopping."  
"Great." Keisin sighed, noticing the crowd as well. They walked in and shimmied their way through the crowd to look at the costumes the tailor in the shop had made.  
"Not much left, is there?" Keisin looked up at them uneasily. "Then again the party is only tomorrow."  
"Nothing black." Rynu grumbled. "I'll go ask the shop keep if he has anymore." Rynu made his way through the crowd over to the desk, there a haggard looking man looked up at him, a weak smile coming over his face.  
"Can I help you, sir?" He said, sounding worn out.  
"Yeah- do you have anything black in the back that may not be out here?" Rynu glanced at the costumes on display again as Keisin looked thoughtfully at one in particular.  
"Why… yes, we do. Only one though. Seems the lad got stood up, and brought it back this morning." The shop keeper walked into the back room, coming out with a set of long black robes and a mask. Keisin walked over to see what Rynu had found, just in time to see Rynu hold up the mask of the outfit.  
It was black, of course, with a small nose that went over the bridge of the nose, whiskers and large black cat-like ears.  
"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Rynu grumbled in dismay. Keisin couldn't help but burst out into hysterical laughter.  
"Hey, look at it this way." Keisin leaned forward, putting a hand on Rynu's shoulder. "At least you'll be able to get into character pretty well."  
Rynu shot him a dark glare and sighed. "Alright, I'll take it. Thank you." He said to the shop keep, handing him a pouch of gold. The man smiled thankfully and turned to the next customer.  
"Are you done yet?" Rynu glanced over at Keisin.  
"Yeah- just a second." Keisin walked back over to the display, coming back with a set of white robes with hundreds of ribbons sewn on in shades of blue and silver.  
"You are so predictable." Rynu rolled his eyes. He held up the mask and laughed in amusement. "Serious?"  
Keisin grinned. "Just because we're going to this party for a reason doesn't mean we can't have fun."

"See?" Marina held up the mask of a white ice dragon. "I think it looks pretty cool."  
"Me too." Pheona smiled. She looked down at her own outfit, loving the fiery ribbons that cascaded down the back of the dress, in reds, golds, coppers and bright oranges.  
"Your dress is SO you." Marina chuckled as she looked down at the fire phoenix outfit.  
"Do you think he'll like it?" Pheona said, blushing as she asked.  
"I'm sure he will." Marina smiled. "I'm glad you found another guy to be with, Pheona. He seems nice."  
Pheona smiled happily. "He is, but I'm just so nervous around him, and I don't know why."  
Marina rolled her eyes. "Come on, you can't be that naïve. It's because you love him."  
Pheona blushed a deep crimson. "I don't know- I never really…"  
"I know you never really loved the other guy." Marina frowned. "I told you I never liked him. He seemed too… perfect."  
Pheona nodded sadly. "Well, I know for sure Keisin isn't perfect."  
"That's for sure." Marina rolled her eyes. "That guy teases people way too much. I'm surprised Rynu hasn't tried to punch him yet."  
Pheona snickered, remembering when Rynu had punched Keisin after turning back into a human.  
"Well, are you excited about tomorrow?" Marina said eagerly.  
"Well yeah, but kind of nervous too." Pheona said, running a hand through her black hair. It was a habit to do that when she didn't know what would happen next and got nervous.  
"Well, all we can do is do our best, and hopefully that guy will answer some questions we have." Marina said with a nod. "For now, let's just try to enjoy the day, and get ready for tomorrow."

"This outfit is uncomfortable." Rynu complained, tying the mask to his face. He looked over to Keisin, who already had his own on. It was white, darkening to a dark blue at the spined tips on either side of his face, simulating the feathers of an ice phoenix. His robes were white with the same coloring on the bottom of the robe and his sleeves, hundreds of silver, blue and dark blue ribbons hanging from his back and sleeves like a cape.  
"I'll be honest, I've never gone to a party before." Keisin said uneasily, looking over to Rynu. "Have you?"  
"Yeah- just be yourself, you'll fit in fine." Rynu grinned from beneath his mask. "Time to go see the girls and go then. Do you have everything you need for when you meet Demetre?"  
Keisin reached up, making sure his amulet was still around his neck. Though he technically didn't need it anymore, old habits die hard, especially when concerning his soul. "I memorized the runes I need." He said, tapping his head. "I'm all set."  
"Alright then, let's go." Rynu walked down the hall, standing at Pheona's door and knocking loudly.  
"You ready, girls?" He said loudly to make sure they had heard him.  
"You don't have to yell. I'm not deaf." Pheona said in annoyance, opening the door to glare at Rynu. Keisin frozen when he saw her- her dress was hung off the shoulders, the deep red of the dress accented by the multicolored ribbons that hung in the same fashion his did. She saw his mask and her mouth twisted with amusement behind her matching mask, but in fiery colors.  
"I can't help but think you meant to do that, but you didn't know what I would be for sure." She chuckled.  
"I had a guess." Keisin grinned, resisting the urge to take off her mask to see her face- he didn't like seeing her face covered up like that. "You look beautiful, you know."  
Pheona blushed behind her mask, the red seeping into her cheeks below the soft leather of the mask before looking at the ground uneasily. "Thanks."  
Marina giggled behind her, the large curved horns of her mask turning with her as she looked at Rynu. "A tienko?"  
Pheona's eyes shot open and she looked at him, hiding her snicker behind her hand.  
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up." Rynu rolled his eyes. He glanced to Marina and smirked, then looked away. "Are we ready to go?"  
"Yeah. Are any of you guys nervous?" Pheona said softly, feeling her heart pound in her chest as they set off down the stairs of the cabin to make their way to the city.


	43. Chapter 43 Encounters

"This is a huge party." Pheona watched the party at the bottom of a flight of stairs with wide eyes. "There's so many people…"  
"You'll be fine." Keisin said reassuringly, taking her arm in the crook of his to guide her into the party. "You guys ready?" He looked over his shoulder at Rynu and Marina.  
"Yeah. I'll find Demetre, and then come over and tell you what he's dressed up as. Then you'll know what he looks like." Rynu nodded, looking down at Marina. "Are you alright with that?"  
"Of course." Marina nodded. "If he's the root of the problem, he needs to be stopped."  
"Alright then, here we go." Pheona closed her eyes and sighed deeply before she walked down the stairs with Keisin.  
The massive castle housed thousands of magi inside its walls- a rainbow of costumes mingled below, some talking and others twirling in dance from the band playing happily below.  
"Looks fun." Keisin smiled. He looked up as a woman ran over, her blond curly hair bouncing around her white cat mask as she stopped in front of Pheona.  
"Hi, Pheona- I'm glad you're back from your trip." The woman smiled happily from behind the white winged cat mask. She glanced at Keisin, her eyes blue eyes widening in surprise. "You brought home a guy?" She smirked wryly.  
Keisin chuckled as Pheona blushed. "Kind of." He grinned.  
"Well then, my name's April." The woman held out a hand for him to shake, which he did.  
"I'm Keisin. Are parties usually this big around here?" Keisin looked around in surprise.  
"Usually bigger." A male voice said from behind April. They looked up to see a man in a black Pegasus mask look at them in interest. "This party seems small, doesn't it?"  
"Hello Lucian." Pheona smiled.  
"Wonderful costume, might I add. That is very fitting for you." Lucian looked at her phoenix costume with a grin. He glanced at Keisin. "Oh? A matching costume."  
"You have a lot of friends." Keisin chuckled to Pheona. She nodded happily, smiling.  
"This is Keisin. He…" She hesistated for a minute, looking to April and Lucian and blushing slightly. "Is my boyfriend."  
Keisin grinned happily, resisting the urge to whoop triumphantly.  
Lucian looked at Keisin again, surprise in his eyes. "Well, that's a shock indeed. Welcome, and have fun with that little firecracker you have." Lucian grinned to Pheona, who scoffed.  
"I'm not that bad." She said, putting her hands on her hips.  
"Of course not." Lucian said, suddenly sarcastically serious. "You're always calm."  
Keisin couldn't help but chuckle at Pheona's expression.  
"Ah… Pheona?" Rynu said, looking bemused behind her. "We have to find you-know-who."  
Pheona sighed and nodded. "I have someone to find here guys, but thanks for the greeting. I hope I'll see you later?"  
"Of course you will." April smiled, waving to them as they worked their way into the crowd.  
"He is different, that's for sure." Lucian glanced over to April.  
"He's cute." April grinned. "Did you see that smile? He's absolutely smitten."  
"Good, that girl needs a change for the better." Lucian sighed and nodded a farewell to April before mingling back in with the crowd as well.

Rynu walked through the crowd, wondering how he was ever going to find Demetre with all these people around. There must be at least a thousand Magi here- and knowing Demetre tended to dress in black didn't help at all.  
"Any luck?" Marina said behind him, seeing his frustrated expression.  
"Not yet." Rynu sighed. "He's wearing a mask- and I haven't seen him for a long time."  
"Well, all we can do is keep looking. I wish I could help- but I have no idea who he even is." She looked around, her white hair falling over her shoulders.  
"It's alright, we'll find him eventually. He's always at these things- and he's usually surrounded by a crowd of…" He glanced over to Marina hesitantly. "Friends."  
Marina looked over at him in confusion at his hesitation and shrugged, trying to look casual as Rynu searched the crowds around him. He saw a red haired woman staring at him from behind the mask of a Keep Spider outfit.  
"Dela." He whispered in shock, his green eyes wide.

Keisin sighed as they stood at the side of the dance floor, Pheona nervously looking around for Rynu.  
"You know, at parties usually people try to enjoy themselves." Keisin said sarcastically, watching her chew her lip in a nervous habit.  
"I'm just worried about Rynu. I don't like him looking for Demetre on his own, but it's the only way."  
"Why would him finding Demetre be a bad thing? We need to talk with him, right?"  
"Demetre's the one that got him into this mess. The Brotherhood, the tattoo, the curse, everything. He ruined Rynu's life, and I'm afraid he might try to take him again."  
Keisin looked up with a frown. "I would have preferred to know this beforehand, you know."  
"I don't really like telling Rynu's past for him." Pheona sighed. "All we can do now is wait."  
Someone yelled in the distance from the crowd, Rynu's shout sounding through the room.  
"Oh no." Pheona whispered before running into the crowd, Keisin following close behind.

Rynu skidded across the polished floor of the ballroom, his mask cracked as he stared at the woman approaching him. He had narrowly avoided Dela's blast of black magic, the serpent tattoo winding across her neck and winding underneath her dress moving across her skin.  
"Go tell Pheona and Keisin where Demetre is. I'll take care of her." Rynu stood with a groan of effort, his shoulder aching from taking the brunt of the blast.  
"But…" Marina looked at the woman in shock, then back to Rynu.  
"Just go! I'll be alright." Rynu yelled, facing the woman as Marina ran into the crowd.  
Rynu watched her leave and sigh with relief. "Come on Dela, I don't want to hurt you." Rynu said warningly as they started circling, watching each other's moves carefully. Dela didn't speak, only keeping the glare of hatred from underneath her mask.  
"He's been controlling you for a while, huh?" Rynu sighed with dismay. "Alright then." He raised a hand, a large root suddenly breaking through the stone floor. It curled around Dela, who gritted her teeth with anger as she struggled against the hold.  
"One last time- if you're anywhere in there, please. I really don't want to do this." Rynu said, holding his hand open in front of him, the tendril of root curling tightly around Dela's form.  
She raised her head enough to spit at his feet and bared her teeth. "Traitor." She hissed.  
Rynu's shoulders sagged sadly. "Of all of us, I would have thought you'd be the strongest." He sighed, closing his hand halfway, the root squeezing the air out of Dela until she fainted with a short groan. Rynu let the root loosen, but kept his hold on her as he looked up to see a man staring at him with black eyes, a frown of disappointment on his face. 


	44. Chapter 44 The Duel

Pheona and Keisin ran up to Rynu as he started yelling in pain, holding his shoulder. He Dela started screaming. Rynu pulled up the sleeve of his black robe to look at his tattoo, seeing the dragon writhe against his skin, fighting against the spiral tattoos around it, its red eyes glowing with anger. It seemed that no matter how hard it fought, it was trapped inside the kirin's additional tattoos.  
"He's over there. Amarth." Rynu managed to grit out of his teeth as he held his shoulder, looking up at Dela, the serpent running across her skin all over her body. Rynu fell to his knees as people moved away from the scene in panic, people muttering as they tried to figure out what was going on. He looked up at Dela with pained eyes, slashing his hand through the air, the root shriveling back into the ground, letting Dela fall to the ground and writhe in pain.  
"What's going on?" Pheona and Keisin ran up to Rynu, who was still kneeling.  
"Just get him! He's doing this." Rynu growled at them.  
"Pheona!" Marina shouted from among a crowd of people, who immediately moved away from her. Pheona ran over, letting Keisin take care of Rynu.  
"Demetre is dressed as an Amarth Alagos. I have no idea what's going on." Marina said in panic, looking over at Rynu in worry.  
"Rynu told me. Did you see where he went?" Pheona looked around as people shifted away from them.  
"No, last I saw him he was by Rynu…" Marina and Pheona looked over at Rynu as a man approached them in an Amarth Alagos costume.  
"Oh crap." Pheona hissed before running back over.

"I'm sure you didn't mean your betrayal, did you Rynu?" Demetre looked down at Rynu, his black eyes hard with anger.  
"You must be Demetre." Keisin glared at the man. He raised his hands, drawing a complex rune in the air before closing his hand into a fist, Demetre glowing brilliantly. The man looked up at Keisin with a surprised expression, snapping his fingers and making the glow vanish.  
Keisin froze in shock- that spell should have bound any magi- it was far too strong for just anyone to break like that… unless…  
He looked at Demetre's neck and saw a glint of silver chain underneath the black and orange robes. He swore harshly, raising his hands defensively before a Demetre smiled wryly and attacked, a blast of black magic filling the area around him. Unfortunately he wasn't quick enough. Keisin shouted in pain as the black magic surrounded him until he let his own magic flare, cancelling out the attack.  
"EVERYONE OUT!" Keisin yelled at the top of his lungs to the many magi around him. He knew how this would go- sorcerer duels were violent and destructive. It was best if everyone was out of the area, lest someone get hurt.  
People started screaming as they rushed for the doors, the black glow surrounding Demetre as he prepared for another attack. Keisin turned, hastily casting a protection spell before watching the black magic blast against the golden shield in front of him. He watched Demetre through the glow of their magic, the man's dark eyes burning with anger.  
"You must be Lourn's son." Demetre's eyes narrowed warily.  
"My name is Keisin." He said loudly, using the break in attacks to look around the room, seeing most of the magi already out the door. He let out a little sigh of relief and let his magic flare around him until his eyes burned with his golden glow. "And you've pissed me off." 


	45. Chapter 45 Aftermath

Rynu woke up on a bed in a familiar wooden house, looking up at a ceiling he hadn't seen for years. Drawings were stuck to the ceiling of basilisks, void dragons and other creatures. He stared at his own drawings, realizing with dismay how much they sucked compared to Keisin's. Then again, that was almost a decade ago now. Meanwhile his entire body was sore- that blast of black magic had really knocked him out. He sat up in his bed, groaning in pain as his body creaked with the motion. He looked around to see Pheona lying asleep on the bed on the opposite side of the room, Keisin asleep against the bed as he sat precariously on a wooden chair.  
"Let them sleep." Conintor whispered from the doorway, glad to see Rynu awake. He walked over to Rynu's bed and pulled over another chair from the other side of the room. "We need to talk, kiddo."  
Rynu sighed, knowing he was right. He laid back down and sighed with relief has his back stopped aching. "Do you mind if I talk while lying down?"  
"Whatever's more comfortable for you." Conintor shrugged as he sat down. "So, what happened?"  
"At the party, or…?" Rynu turned his head to look at his adoptive father.  
"Both. First things first though- how are you feeling?" The plump man looked Rynu over for any injuries. "you didn't look hurt when you came in, but you still wouldn't wake up."  
"I got blasted pretty well with black magic. It probably shorted me out. Again." Rynu rolled his eyes, remembering when Keisin had shorted him out too. Sorcerers were damn annoying.  
Conintor raised an eyebrow curiously, but decided not to ask. "So you're alright?"  
"I will be soon." Rynu sighed, his chest hurting at the deep inhale. "Is Pheona alright? I didn't see how badly she was hurt."  
"She had a pretty bad break in her arm." Conintor glanced over at her bed. "That boy wouldn't leave her all night."  
"He loves her." Rynu sighed. "He gets pretty overprotective." Rynu looked down at himself, noticing he was still wearing the tienko costume. "Ugh, I want to get this costume off but I don't want to move."  
Conintor smiled wryly. "That was always your problem- wanting everything all at once. Rest for now."  
Rynu looked over at Conintor and sighed. "About your first question- I left because… I was confused."  
Conintor's smile quickly vanished, his face turning serious. "About what?"  
Rynu hesitated, trying to find a way to explain things. "My father killed my mother, Con. I never really… had a good father figure. I didn't really know how to communicate with you other than through anger."  
Con sighed, nodding softly. "I can understand that, I suppose. I wish you'd told me instead of just leaving though."  
Rynu looked away. "I was too stupid and scared to tell you."  
Conintor patted Rynu's shoulder in comfort. "Well that's all water under the bridge now, kiddo. I'm glad you're okay, and I'm glad the Brotherhood didn't do anything too bad."  
Rynu looked at Conintor guiltily. "They kind of did though."  
Conintor hesitated, looking down at him. "What did they do?"  
Rynu flinched as he moved to lift his sleeve up, revealing the serpent tattoo. "This isn't a tattoo- it's a mark that can control me. I don't know how to get rid of it, but a kirin put that swirly stuff around it which seems to keep it contained pretty well."  
Conintor stared at the tattoo for a minute and shook his head. "That doesn't look good."  
"It's not." Rynu lowered the sleeve again, lying back in relief.  
"So then, what happened at the party? I know you wanted to talk with some guy." Conintor asked, staying silent as Pheona muttered in her sleep.  
"We went to see Demetre. He gave me this serpent, and he's the one that controls it. Apparently he's a sorcerer." Rynu's voice cracked at the realization. "I can be controlled by a sorcerer. What a nightmare."  
"I'm sure there's some way to fix it." Conintor said hopefully.  
"I don't know, Con. This is sorcerer magic- not magi magic. They're two completely different things."  
"Isn't he a sorcerer?" Conintor pointed over his shoulder at Keisin as he snored.  
"Yeah, but I doubt he'd be able to get rid of it. This guy seemed a lot more powerful than Keisin for some reason."  
"And yet he ran away." Conintor pointed out.  
"Yeah, but he was controlling who knows how many people AND fighting Keisin at the same time. Who knows what he'd be like if he was concentrating on doing one thing?"  
Conintor hesitated and sighed. "You're right. Splitting spells like that would definitely weaken him. That's a scary thing to think about."  
"There's something else- his amulet said his name was Isildre. That's the name of the serpent that controls me, so I know that's just him… but that sounds really familiar for some reason."  
Conintor shrugged. "I'm sure you might have heard it in the Brotherhood at some point."  
Rynu thought for a minute. "I'm sure you're right. It's probably just something like that." Rynu nodded, but couldn't help but shake the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Usually he trusted his instincts- they had served him well during his life- but he just couldn't figure out why the name sounded so familiar…  
"Either way, I should probably tell that girl you're awake. She was pretty worried about you." Conintor stood, keeping the chair beside Rynu's bed.  
"What girl?" Rynu looked up at him in confusion. Dela was dead… what other girl would worry about him?  
"Pheona's friend. The one with the white hair."  
Rynu blinked in shock. "Marina's worried about me?"  
"About both of you." Conintor corrected. "I'll have her come in and see you. Try to keep quiet though, those two were up for most of the night with some pretty nasty healing spells. I didn't really have time to put her to sleep before I started."  
Rynu winced at the thought, knowing that healing spells could hurt as much as the initial damage did sometimes. After all, skin and bones re-growing didn't feel very nice.  
Conintor opened the door, walking out as Marina walked in. She walked over and sat in the chair in front of Rynu's bed, both of them silent for a minute as Marina looked around uneasily.  
"So, are you feeling better?" She said softly, looking down at him.  
"Very sore, but I'll be fine." Rynu said, and winced as he sighed again. "I hate that sorcerer magic. It really packs a punch."  
Marina nodded. "I've never seen a sorcerer duel before- there was so much magic, it was kind of scary." She said softly, glancing over to Keisin. "Pheona knows he's a sorcerer, right?"  
"Oh yeah, she definitely does." Rynu nodded. "She's learning to accept it though."  
Marina nodded and smiled softly. "That's good. I was afraid she didn't know and it would come as quite a surprise."  
Rynu watched her for a minute as a silence settled over them again, Marina running her hands through her long white hair uneasily.  
"How are things at Inasi?" Rynu said uneasily, knowing she liked to talk about her keep.  
"Good. Zarifi and Nyoko are watching over things while I'm away." Marna smiled. "I've always wondered- why don't you have your own keep like most magi?"  
Rynu grinned wryly. "With the number of creatures Pheona has I always figured one between us was enough. I just focus on taking care of Medusa." He froze, looking around the room in panic when he realized she wasn't around. "Where is she? She's probably worried sick about me."  
"Don't worry, she knows you're fine." Marina giggled at his sudden panic over a creature.  
Rynu relaxed again. "Good- she tends to freak out when something like this happens."  
Marina couldn't help but smile. "You really care for that basilisk, don't you?"  
Rynu shrugged. "She and I have been through a lot together."  
"I think it's cute." Marina chuckled before standing up. "You should get some sleep though- its pretty late in the day."  
"Cute." Rynu muttered in dismay. "That's all I need- to be known as 'cute'."  
Marina grinned and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her to let Rynu sleep.


	46. Chapter 46 Recovery

Pheona woke up groggily, looking around the room in confusion. They were in Rynu's room, which had two beds set up in it. She looked up at the drawings on the ceiling and couldn't help but smile. One was of her when she was little- though it looked more like a black haired monster from Rynu's drawing talent as a child. She heard snoring nearby and looked down to see Keisin lying on the bed by her , his head set in his arms as he snored, a small amount of drool dripping down his chin. He muttered in his sleep as she shifted slightly to get more comfortable.  
"Mmmm… sky turned purple…. Looks like rain." Keisin muttered, his snoring starting again.  
Pheona giggled, wondering what he was dreaming about. Apparently something with a purple sky. She moved her hand down, running it through his blond hair softly. He smiled in his sleep, humming happily as she continued. He leaned into her touch and opened his eyes slowly, looking over at her with a smile.  
"You're awake." He said, his voice rough from sleep. "You feeling okay?"  
"Yeah." Pheona looked down at her arm, raising her sleeve to look at the skin underneath- it was healed except for a long scar along her arm that would be there for the rest of her life. She sighed in dismay as she looked at the mark.  
"You're fine." Keisin said, sitting up and falling off the chair he had been slipping out of as he slept. Pheona started laughing as Keisin looked at her from the ground, grinning up at her.  
"Yeah, that was funny, wasn't it?" He chuckled, standing back up and sitting on the chair again.  
"So what happened to Demetre?" Pheona asked, her head finally clear enough to think well.  
"He vanished. I think he got away." Keisin said in annoyance. "We'll have to find him somehow."  
Pheona nodded, looking over at Rynu. "What's wrong with him? Is he alright?"  
"He got blasted by Demetre's amulet. He should be okay soon." Keisin glanced over at Rynu. "Though do you know who that woman he was fighting was?"  
"Oh, you mean Dela?"  
"Who was she?" Keisin looked to Pheona in confusion. "It seemed like he knew her pretty well."  
"Yeah, he almost married her." Pheona sighed.  
"WHAT?" Keisin said, flinching as Pheona hushed him when Rynu stirred in his sleep. "Rynu was almost married?"  
"Yeah- she… turned on him, though." Pheona sighed sadly. "I think he forgave her. She was controlled by Demetre too- that's how they met."  
Keisin nodded slowly. "No wonder he doesn't have a girl- that would be terrible." Keisin looked away, not able to bear the thought of Pheona dying.  
They both looked up in surprise as a loud band sounded from the front door of Conintor's cabin.  
"I should probably get up anyway." Pheona sighed, sitting up in her bed and flipping around so that her feet were on the ground. She looked down at herself, realizing she was still wearing her blood-soaked phoenix costume. Keisin had his ice phoenix outfit still, most of the ribbons that had been on the costume burned and torn.  
"I must look awful." Pheona sighed, standing and stretching her legs with a small groan of relief.  
"You're fine." Keisin smiled, opening the door for her before glancing back at Rynu one last time. They all walked out into the living room to see Lir standing in the room, looking large against the low ceiling.  
_I was hoping you were alright. You have been gone for longer than expected._ Lir looked up as Pheona walked into the room.  
"I'm glad to see you too." Pheona chuckled as Lir looked over to Conintor, nodding slightly in greeting.  
_I have spoken with the frost unicorn Centurion healed. He has news of the kirin who is supposed to be the guardian of the local forest. Also, a kirin is waiting for us back at Avalon. He has requested your presence.  
_"Well we should probably try and head back pretty quickly then." Pheona sighed_. _  
"Back to Avalon? Don't you think you should heal a bit more first?" Keisin said warily.  
_Heal?_ Lir said, his eyes widening as he looked Pheona over. _Why would you need to be healed- are you injured? Who hurt you?_  
"Calm down, bug guy." Pheona laughed at his urgency. "They're already taken care of, and Conintor healed me just fine. I'm okay." She glanced at Keisin. "Though I'm not sure if Rynu should travel yet, though."  
"I'm fine too. You people worry about me too much." Rynu walked into the living room, looking at Pheona in concern before noticing she wasn't in any pain at all. He sighed and leaned back against the wall behind him, trying to act casual and hiding a wince of pain from his sore muscles.  
"You're a horrible liar, Rynu." Pheona chuckled. "How about you stay here for now? I'm sure Conintor wouldn't mind, right?" Pheona looked to the man and smiled as he shook his head.  
"Not at all- you can stay here as long as you need to. This is your home." Conintor said, smiling to Rynu.  
"Thanks, Con." Rynu smiled warmly, pushing himself off the wall with a groan. "Alright, I'll stay here for a while longer. You two have fun at Avalon."  
"I'll stay here with Rynu. Just in case." Marina said softly, blushing at Pheona's shocked expression. "What? I could always go and get someone if he starts getting worse- that way Conintor wouldn't have to worry about leaving him alone."  
"Good idea." Conintor nodded. "There's nothing worse than having to leave someone alone when they're sick to find a more experienced healer."  
"Alright." Pheona said, turning to Rynu uneasily. "Don't walk around too much okay?" She said softly.  
"Don't worry so much." Rynu grinned wryly. "I'm a big boy, remember?"  
Pheona rolled her eyes. "Right. Just don't be dumb. We'll be back once we find out what's going on." Pheona looked around the cabin, seeing Russet sleeping in the corner on top of a pile of equine blankets.  
"I've got him." Keisin walked over to the hatchling and picked him up, smiling when Russet yawned and looked up at him, chirping happily. Keisin held the hatchling against his hip, since he was still in his ice phoenix costume and so didn't have his robe. "Unfortunately we might look a little silly walking in these outfits."  
"We should have brought a change of clothing with us." Pheona sighed. "Oh well."  
She patted Lir on the neck as she passed him, opening the door and letting the unicorn walk out first. "We'll be back once things are settled down at Avalon, okay?" She looked back at Rynu who rolled his eyes in exasperation.  
"Just go. We'll be fine." He waved a hand to encourage her to go.  
Pheona nodded and smiled, walking out the door. Keisin glanced over his shoulder at Rynu, nodding a farewell before closing the door behind him.


	47. Chapter 47 Thiazi

Pheona and Keisin arrived in Avalon, climbing off Lir and walking up to Centurion and Alabast.  
"I am glad to see you are safe." Alabast sighed in relief as he saw she was fine. "We were expecting you back yesterday."  
"Yeah… Conintor healed me, and I'm okay now. We ran into a bit of trouble at the party."  
"A bit." Keisin scoffed sarcastically.  
_We will speak of this later. _ Lir stomped a hoof to the ground. _For now, we should not keep the kirin waiting._  
Pheona nodded. "Lir's right." She looked around, ignoring Centurion's shocked stare at her hearing Lir. "Where's the kirin?"  
"He is inspecting the forest for a sign of our guardian, or lack thereof." Alabast said, glancing to Centurion's expression with confusion. "He will likely be back soon."  
_Then let's talk with the frost unicorn._ Lir said, walking over to the herd of frost and earth unicorns grazing in the distance. _I will translate for you.  
_Pheona followed Lir, looking around at her unicorns as they greeted her with waving horns and whickers.  
"Hey guys, do you know where the new guy is?" Pheona looked around at them, the unicorns parting to reveal a scruffy looking frost unicorn near the outside of the herd. The unicorn walked up to her, tilting his head when he looked down at her.  
_He says hello, his name is Thiazi, and he thanks you for helping him and allowing him to stay in your keep.  
_"It's no problem." Pheona smiled. "You're welcome to stay for as long as you'd like."  
The unicorn watched her for a minute and looked off into the forest.  
_He is hesitant about ever leaving- especially with what he saw. He asks if you would allow him to stay here for the rest of his life. _Lir blinked in surprise. _That is unusual.  
"_You can stay here. What did you see what made you so afraid of the forest?" Pheona asked softly, walking up to the unicorn and running his hand along his strong neck gently.  
_He saw the kirin be killed by a man. A man with dark clothing that looked old._  
"What did he do?"  
_He cast a spell on the kirin and took its life into a stone. Then he didn't look old anymore._  
Pheona froze, her eyes widening. "He turned young again?"  
The unicorn nodded.  
_He says that after the man was done, he saw him and tried to take his life as well._ Lir snorted in disgust. _Luckily he got away. Unfortunately, I think this means that Thiazi is now mortal._  
Pheona sighed in dismay. "Well, you'll be taken care of as best we can. We'll find whoever did this to you."  
Thiazi set his head against her shoulder gently, letting out a long sigh. Pheona noticed with a twinge of pain that his eyes looked tired, worn and sad. She had never seen that look in a unicorn before, and it broke her heart.  
"Is there a way to change him back to normal?" Pheona whispered to Lir as she ran her hand through Thiazi's white mane.  
_No. Once an immortal is changed to a mortal, he will eventually die. There is no way to reverse the change._ Lir said sadly.  
Thiazi let out a low snort, bumping Pheona's shoulder with his snout.  
_He says not to worry about him. Find the man who did this._  
Pheona nodded, hugging the unicorn around the neck. "The herd will take good care of you- and Centurion and Lir will make sure you're always safe."  
_I am glad to see magi so caring for their creatures during this dark time._ A deep voice said from the forest. Pheona looked up to see an autumn kirin walk out from a grove of trees, looking at Thiazi with wide eyes before hanging his head in dismay. _  
I have seen no sign of this forest's kirin. It is as if she never existed._ The kirin looked back behind him sadly. _I will have to speak of my mate about this. If I may, would you be willing to let your ally centaur travel with me back to my forest?_ The kirin looked over at Centurion, who bowed low in respect.  
"I would be honored." Centurion said, looking to Pheona.  
"Of course. I'll stay here until you return." Pheona said, keeping a hand on Thiazi's cheek.  
_Thank you. We will return by tomorrow's sunset. My name is Zarkash, mate of Alice. I will fix this dire situation if it takes me the rest of my days. _ The kirin snorted in anger and watched over his shoulder for Centurion to grab a satchel and ran off through the forest with Zarkash.  
_That kirin has quite an attitude for his species._ Lir said in amusement, looking to the rest of the herd. They watched him, all of them looking uneasy. _I will have to reassure the herd. Perhaps it is best for you to stay with Keisin._ Lir looked back at Pheona as he turned toward the herd. _Do not worry. Alabast and I will take care of things. You just rest- I can tell your arm is still sore, you are favoring it._  
Pheona rubbed her arm and sighed. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?" She smiled softly.  
_I would not be much of a guardian if you could. Talk with your mate, and call me should you have need of me._  
"He's not my mate!" Pheona yelled, her face turning to a bright red with a blush.  
_Fine, whatever you humans call those whom you love and have relations with._ Lir said in exasperation.  
Pheona sighed and walked back to the cabin, looking around for Keisin. He wasn't anywhere to be seen outside. She opened the door to the cabin and looked inside, looking around and seeing Keisin reading a singed and decrepit book.  
"Where did you find that?" Pheona gasped in shock at the sight of the book.  
Keisin looked up when she came over to look at the book in his hands. "Over in that bookshelf. I thought it looked strange, because it's entirely hand written. Why do you have a sorcerer's spell book?" Keisin opened to a page, runes scribbled hastily over the parchment, notes jotted down in the margins in either side.  
"That's the book the sorcerer had brought with him when he came to ask to stay with us. He was running from another sorcerer." Pheona looked down at the book sadly. "For some reason it was one of the few things that survived the fire."  
"I'm sorry." Keisin closed the book to look up at her in concern. "I probably shouldn't have been so nosy."  
"No, you're fine." Pheona waved a hand dismissively. "If it helps you, go ahead and read it. Maybe it will tell you what that man was trying to do."  
"It looks like he was trying to reverse a mesmerizing spell." Keisin looked down at the sloppy notes. "And in a hurry, too. Sorcerers are usually much neater than this."  
"Well, he was running for his life from someone. I don't remember their names- it happened way too fast." Pheona looked over his shoulder at the book, blinking in confusion at the intricate runes across the pages.  
"Well, here's the odd part." Keisin flipped to the beginning of the book, in which the writing was in an entirely different style, neat notes taken carefully beside their respective symbols. "It looks like a different person wrote this part."  
"Maybe that guy stole it." Pheona said in surprise. "Is there a name written down on it?"  
Keisin turned the book over, turning to the inside of the front cover, but seeing nothing but a blank page. He turned instead to the back, seeing a cursive script near the top of the back cover.  
He brought it closer to his face to read the smudged script, singed from the fire that had destroyed.  
"Holy shit." Keisin gasped after her read the text.  
'Experiments in mesmerizing by Isildre of Raza'


	48. Chapter 48 Trance

"What's wrong?" Pheona looked down at the inscription.  
"That's the name of the serpent in my dream- remember that really awful dream I had a while back?" Keisin opened the book to the first page to look at the spells.  
"Why would they have the same name? You don't think it's the same person, do you?" Pheona looked down at the spells in confusion. "Besides, why does he have mesmerizing spells if he's a serpent?"  
"I don't think he is a serpent- I think he's a sorcerer of some sort." Keisin flipped through the pages curiously. "And it looks like a very powerful one."  
Pheona nodded uneasily, not able to help the feeling that she'd heard that name somewhere before. She thought for a minute and sighed, not able to remember. Hopefully it would come to her later. "Well, you can take a look at that book for a minute, I'm going to get out of his outfit." Pheona looked down in dismay at her blood covered dress. It had been so nice when she had first gotten it…  
Keisin nodded, continuing to read the book without looking up at her. She chuckled at his intent reading and walked up the stairs to her room to change.

Pheona walked back over to Keisin, laughing when she saw he hadn't moved from the spot- though she did see a few more pages read in the book. "Did you find anything?" She looked over his shoulder.  
"Yeah- it seems a lot like the spell that's on Rynu- maybe if I can figure this out, we can-" He looked up and froze, a light blush coloring his cheeks. She was dressed in metallic red robes, black and gold embroidery lining the neckline of her usual off-the-shoulders style dress. These outfits of hers would be the death of him.  
"I look that good?" Pheona looked down at herself with a smile at his shocked stare. "These is my favorite dress."  
"Uh, yeah- you look very pretty." Keisin said, clearing his throat to act casual. Pheona's smile only widened.  
"So, you were saying?"  
Keisin thought for a minute, trying to find his last thought before seeing her. "I can't remember."  
Pheona laughed, making his blush deepen. "You were talking about if you can figure out these spells, you can do something with Rynu."  
"Ah, yeah- I can maybe try and reverse the spell that's cast on him from Demetre. There's a bunch of different mesmerizing spells in here that involve markings."  
Pheona looked up at him uneasily. "Is it okay for you to do those?"  
Keisin shrugged. "It's not like I'm trying to control people. I just want to figure them out to help Rynu."  
Pheona nodded in approval. "So, how do you learn them?"  
"Well see, that's the problem… I'd have to find someone who's willing to put up with me trying different spells on them. I can't really do these on creatures or anything, because they're oriented toward humans."  
Pheona looked down at the pages uneasily. "You can experiment on me, if you want."  
Keisin looked up at her in surprise. "Are you sure? I thought you didn't like… what I do."  
She glanced up at him, a weak smile coming over her face. "I trust you. I know you wouldn't do anything bad."  
Keisin watched her for any sign of denial for a minute and sighed. "If you're sure, I can try."  
"Yeah, I'm sure. Start with a simple one, though. We'll see how it goes." Pheona stepped back to prepare for the first spell.  
"Alright, we'll try this first one in here." Keisin flipped opened the cover, looking at the first page. He raised a hand and looked up at her uneasily. "You're positive you want to do this?"  
Pheona nodded. "If it might help Rynu, then yes."  
"Alright…" Keisin sighed and wrote the rune in the air carefully, being sure to accurately trace the glow before him. He pushed the rune toward Pheona, who gasped as it sunk into her body, the glow fading against her skin.  
Keisin waited for a minute as she blinked in shock. "You feeling alright?"  
Pheona looked at him in surprise, as if just noticing he was there. "Yeah, I feel fine." She smiled warmly. "Mmmmmm, yeah, I feel nice."  
Keisin watched her uneasily as she walked up to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed, leaning against him. "Did I ever tell you how cute you are? Tall too- I like tall guys." She giggled against him.  
"Uh…" Keisin held up the book behind her, hooking his other arm around her shoulder to turn the page. "Oh crap, wrong spell."  
"Put that book down for a minute, will you? Let's have some fun." She laughed against his shirt. She nuzzled her chest, humming happily.  
"Oh Gods- alright, give me a minute to find the reversal." Keisin hurriedly flipped through the pages of the book as Pheona giggled. His eyes widened in shock as she kissed his neck, looking down at her in panic. "C-can you please let me concentrate?"  
"No." She giggled, pressing against him as she laughed. "You're always way too serious."  
"Well one of us has to be." Keisin said uneasily, watching her closely. Part of him was glad to see Pheona attracted to him like this- but the logical part of him knew that this wasn't really how she felt. He pushed her away with a sigh of dismay, knowing that if this were the real her, she would never act this way.  
"What, don't you like me?" Pheona asked in confusion as he held his hand on her shoulder to keep her away.  
"Yeah I do, it's just… this isn't you." Keisin watched her uneasily. He sighed in dismay when her eyes started tearing up, sniffing softly. "Gods, don't cry… I cast the wrong spell, and now you're not acting like yourself. If you'll wait for a minute I can change you back to normal."  
Pheona nodded, looking down at herself as if seeing what was wrong with her.  
Keisin let out a growl of frustration and pulled her toward him, kissing her fiercely before pushing her back away. "There. Now let me concentrate." He said, his voice husky as he flipped back through the pages.  
Pheona smiled wryly, sitting down in the chair behind him, folding one leg over the other to reveal a long line of the skin of her leg from beneath her skirt.  
Keisin glanced at her, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat before turning back to the book, hastily flipping through pages.  
"Ah, finally." Keisin sighed in relief, drawing another rune in the air in front of him, making sure it was right this time. He pushed the rune toward Pheona, who sagged in her seat for a minute before blinking in surprise.  
"What happened, did it work?" She sat up, looking down at her legs and blushing to a cherry red before unfolding her legs, settling her skirt back over her legs modestly.  
"It worked." Keisin sighed in relief. "But I don't want to do that again."


	49. Chapter 49 Reassurance

_Rynu ran through the hallways of the castle, skidding around corners in his rush. Screams sounded through the halls from the distance, making his heart pound with dread with every sound of her voice. He knew what was happening. How DARE Demetre do this?  
He rounded the corner, his mind dreading the scene he knew would come next- Demetre standing over Dela, his hands glowing with his putrid black magic. He had marked her.  
Instead, Dela stood in the room, her red hair falling down her shoulders in waves. She had a sad expression on her face when she saw him, her mouth raising slightly in a weak smile.  
"Hey Ry." She said softly, clasping her hand in front of her nervously. "I have something I need to tell you before I go."  
Rynu walked into the room, watching her in shock. "But… I'm confused. I thought you were…"  
"Dead?" Dela spat out in anger. "Yeah, I am. Sort of. Rynu, we're all still here. He doesn't know- but just like he became part of us, we became part of him."  
Rynu froze, watching her in shock. "You're not saying what I think you're saying."  
Dela nodded gently. "I'm afraid I am. You know it's true, though you don't want to believe it. I wouldn't either. Rynu, I hope you won't let this ruin your life. Live to the fullest- you always focus on the past, and forget to live in the present."  
"But-" Rynu reached out to her, cringing in pain as his hand passed through her.  
"You know what I mean, Rynu. Forget about me- you know it never would have worked. We had a good time together, but that time is past. Look to the future." Dela smiled softly, her image fading in front of him.  
"Wait!" Rynu ran forward, trying to wrap his arms around her to keep her with him._

He shot up in his bed, his face covered in a cold sweat as Medusa startled from lying on his chest.  
"Are you okay?" Marina said, sitting in the chair beside his bed, holding a small basin of water and a wet cloth.  
Rynu wiped his face, noticing that most of it had been water rather than sweat. He sighed in relief when he realized he had been dreaming. He looked over to Pheona's bed, his eyes widening when he saw she wasn't there.  
"Where's Pheona?" He asked, sitting up again. Marina gave him a stern look, pushing him back down.  
"She went with Keisin to Avalon. She's fine, and Keisin's taking care of her. Lay back down, you're in no shape to start moving around yet."  
"What happened?" He sighed, his sore muscles relaxing as he laid back down. He looked down at his chest, wondering when someone had taken his shirt off.  
"Conintor did that. You had a terribly fever earlier- he was starting to panic, but you started to get better again. You should be fine now." Marina watched him silently for a minute. "Did you have a bad dream?"  
"Yeah." Rynu rubbed his palm over his face and groaned in pain. "Pretty bad."  
"What was it about?" Marina said, trying not to look at the multitude of scars that covered him- it looked like he had been in so much pain, it hurt to see them.  
"Dela. Just… nevermind." Rynu growled from between gritted teeth, looking away from Marina.  
Marina watched him with an annoyed expression. "Why do you always do that? It drives me crazy."  
"Do what?" Rynu looked over at her in confusion.  
"You always keep things to yourself- you don't want to tell anyone about what's wrong, and you don't want anyone to help you. Is it because you want to feel strong?"  
"No." Rynu growled.  
"Then why, Rynu? Do you feel like you don't deserve the attention of those around you?"  
"No!" Rynu sat up, looking at her fiercely. "I don't want to hurt anyone!"  
Marina sat in silence for a bit, her cyan eyes burning with anger. "Well too late." She said, shoving the basin and cloth into his hands and walking out of the room.  
Rynu looked down at the water, looking back up at the door as Marina slammed it behind her. Why was she so angry?  
_You really are stupid sometimes, Rynu_ Medusa laughed in his mind, her thin tongue hissing as she relaxed again.

Later that night, Pheona handed Keisin the singed book, looking at him with serious eyes. "I want you to tell me what happened. Why have you been avoiding me all night? You've hardly said a word."  
Keisin sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously. "You'll just get angry with me, and I'd really rather not have that happen."  
Pheona rolled her eyes. "Even if it was that bad, I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose, right?"  
"No, not on purpose." Keisin said, unable to help a small smile. "Though it was kind of nice to know that you have the capability to be that way."  
Pheona looked up at him in confusion and scoffed. "Then tell me what happened already- I'm really tired of you avoiding me."  
Keisin watched her for a minute and nodded, taking the book and opening it to the first page. "See this symbol?" He pointed to an intricate symbol scribbled on the page.  
"Yeah, what about it?" Pheona looked down at the notes, wondering how he could ever understand any of this.  
"I got it mixed up with this one." Keisin flipped through the pages, pointing to another very similar symbol- the only difference was a small change in direction at the end.  
Pheona's eyes widened when she saw the words 'lust spell' above the symbol. She flushed crimson and looked at him. "I didn't- I…"  
"You didn't do anything." Keisin shook his head. "I wouldn't let you do something like that when you're not yourself."  
Pheona looked up at him sheepishly, and down at the ground. "I hope you don't think I'm… loose."  
"Of course not." Keisin rolled his eyes. "You're one of the most modest people I know- save for the dress thing, of course." He pointed to her off-the-shoulder dress.  
Pheona looked down at herself, smiling softly. "I've always liked this style."  
"I like it too. Honestly I was glad to see you relax a little. You're always so… tense." Keisin sighed. "I know you're not used to being around a sorcerer."  
"That's not why I'm tense." Pheona looked up at him. "I've never met a guy as nice as you are- I just… don't want to mess things up."  
Keisin watched her for a minute before smiling. "You won't mess things up, I promise. Just relax a bit- it's not like I'll turn you into a frog or something."  
"You better not." Pheona said, hitting him on the shoulder teasingly.  
"Ribbit." Keisin poked her side, making her yelp in surprise. She moved away, her face red.  
"Don't poke me there- that tickles." She said, moving away when he grinned mischievously. He chased her around the cabin as Russet watched in amusement, letting out encouraging chirps to the two humans. Finally he wanted to play too- and so tackled Keisin in the face, making him yell and fall back against Pheona as Russet chirped happily while standing on his chest. He had won!  
Keisin wrapped his arms around Pheona and sighed against her black hair. "Don't worry about making me upset- it would take a lot to make me angry enough to leave."  
Pheona nodded, sighing in relief. She had never had a relationship like this before- where she didn't have to watch every word she said in hopes of not making him mad. She smiled and kissed his cheek gently.  
"No," Keisin took her face into his hands, kissing her warmly on the lips. "That's a proper kiss."  
Pheona blushed and nodded, leaning back against him with a sigh. "We should probably get some sleep. I have a feeling when the kirin comes tomorrow we'll have a long day."  
Keisin nodded, standing up and helping her up as well, Russet sitting on his shoulder.  
"I… uh… I keep having bad dreams though." Pheona looked down at the ground uneasily.  
"Do you want me to keep you company tonight?" Keisin said, smiling softly. "It doesn't have to mean anything else. I'll just make sure you don't have any bad dreams."  
Pheona smiled up at him gratefully. "Yeah."  
They walked up to Pheona's room, Keisin setting his robe down on a chair as Pheona crawled onto the bed. Keisin laid down beside her, hooking an arm around her waist protectively.  
"I'll wake you up if you start having a bad dream." He said against her shoulder, making her blush at the contact. "Relaaaaax. You're way too uptight to sleep." He said as he felt how tense her body was.  
Pheona sighed, letting herself relax within his arms. She fell asleep feeling safe within his arms, smiling as she heard his soft snores against her shoulder.


	50. Chapter 50 Scandal

Keisin woke up warm and comfortable- which was unusual. He opened his eyes drowsily and settled his cheek back down against the soft silk resting against his cheek. He felt someone shift in front of him and his eyes opened in shock, looking over at whoever was in the bed with him.  
Oh yeah, Pheona.  
He grinned and realized the silk against his cheek was her black hair. He tightened his hold on her and sighed in content, wondering if he should wake her up or not.  
Hmmm… he would wait a bit. This felt pretty nice. His eyes drooped as he laid his head back down, yawning sleepily.

Lir looked over at the cabin in frustration. It was very unusual for Pheona to sleep in this late, and Alabast was starting to annoy him with his questions.  
"Don't look at me like that." Alabast said to Lir as the stallion glared at him. "That frost unicorn has some injuries. I just want to make sure we order the proper medicine for him." He looked down at the parchment in his hand, writing the order to bring to Synara for supplies.  
Lir snorted in frustration and walked over to the cabin, bumping the unlocked door open with his snout. He walked in, looking around but seeing Pheona and Keisin nowhere in sight. His ears perked as he heard breathing from the second, level. He walked over to the stairs, his hooves making loud noises on the wood as he glared at the steps.  
He would be able to walk up, but it would be difficult on the way down. He let out a loud snort and started walking up the narrow staircase, his large hooves barely able to stay on a stair as he climbed. He finally made it to the second level, walking over to the first room and bumping the door open with his nose.  
He froze in place at the scene of Pheona and Keisin sleeping in the same bed, Keisin's arm hooked around Pheona's waist. He chortled in amusement and walked over to the side of the bed, nudging Pheona's arm with his snout.  
_Wake up, Pheona. I know you probably had a long night, but Alabast needs to speak with you._ Lir said, stepping back when she stirred and looked up at him.  
"Hey Lir." She smiled sleepily, waking up and looking down as Keisin's arm slid down from her waist and onto her lap. He woke up, looking at her in concern before seeing Lir.  
"Is everything okay?" He woke up, sitting up and stretching.  
_It's about time you two mated. Human rituals confuse me, but they seem quite effective._ Lir tilted his head in interest.  
"What?" Pheona looked at Lir in shock, her face blushing to a deep red. "But- we didn't-"  
"Didn't what?" Keisin looked over at Lir as he stood, walking over to the chair to grab his robe.  
"He thinks we… we…" Pheona put her hands on her face and let out a loud squeal of embarrassment.  
"Spit it out, woman." Keisin laughed at her hesitation.  
"He thinks we… mated." Pheona let out another squeal.  
Keisin looked up at Lir, his face blushing as well. "Ah…. No. She just needed me to help her not have nightmares."  
Lir snorted in disbelief.  
"Serious." Keisin stood up, starting to look annoyed. "Don't go spreading it around- we really didn't."  
Lir rolled his eyes. _You two are so amusing. I wonder if all humans are like this._  
"Please don't tell everyone, Lir… they'll think…" Pheona said sadly, still covering her face. Lir froze, looking over at her with wide eyes.  
"Oh great. Lir, you great big ass." Keisin sighed in frustration, walking over to Pheona and hugging her for reassurance. "He won't tell anyone. Will he?" Keisin looked up at Lir with a glare.  
_I did not mean to make her sad. Why is she so upset?_ Lir watched Pheona with bewildered panic.  
"Humans are different from animals- it's bad if they mate with more than one person. What if a unicorn was spreading around that you had another mate other than Amalthea?" Keisin explained as Pheona sat silently.  
_Oh._ Lir said, sounding depressed. _I didn't know… I thought because of what Amalthea saw…_ Lir hesitated, not knowing what to say.  
"What did Amalthea see?" Pheona looked up, her voice rough with emotion.  
Lir looked down uneasily, scuffing a hoof on the wooden floor. _I am not supposed to say.  
_"Then why bring it up?" Pheona sighed in frustration. "Just… ugh. I'm sorry I got upset, but if everyone saw that Keisin just came here a few days ago and then found out about _that_, it would be quite the scandal."  
"I bet." Keisin scoffed. "Especially since I'm not even a magi."  
_What is a scandal?_ Lir tilted his head curiously.  
Pheona sighed in frustration. It figured that a unicorn, which is supposed to be pure of soul, wouldn't know what a scandal was.  
"A scandal is something that people think is so bad that they think that the person who did it badly. Anyone who starts a scandal is talked about by everyone behind their backs, and ridiculed."  
Lir snorted and stomped a hoof on the ground. _I will not allow that to happen to you._  
"Then don't assume things, you big lug." Pheona rolled her eyes. "I really was having those nightmares again. I woke up yesterday and burned my sheets. I'm getting tired of changing them." Pheona glanced over to the singed bedframe and sighed. She wouldn't tell the two guys that these were her last non-burned sheets. She had gone through nearly half a dozen since they had come back.  
"It's been that bad?" Keisin looked at her in concern. Last time he had seen her have a nightmare, she had only gotten really warm- she hadn't burned anything.  
"Yeah. It's just… I have a really bad feeling about something. I hate feelings like that because it tends to mean that something huge and horrible is going to happen." Pheona bit her lip nervously.  
_The last time you had that feeling, Rynu almost died._ Lir nodded in agreement. _It is best to heed your warning. I will go speak to Amalthea to see if she knows of anything._  
"No, I don't want to know the future." Pheona looked over at Lir with a stern expression. "I told you, it's very bad for humans to know the future."  
Lir sighed, his head drooping. _But it's so useful.  
_"Until someone messes it up because they know about it. Just… you two try and work it out, but leave me out of it."  
Keisin sighed in frustration. It was very annoying only hearing half of the conversation as Lir and Pheona talked. All he heard were snorts and whickers from Lir. He glanced over to Russet, who was chewing on the leg of the bed, his sharp beak making imprints on the wood. Keisin sighed and picked up the small hatchling, letting him chew on his sleeve instead.  
Lir nodded and walked out the door, looking down at the stairs uneasily. He made his way down carefully, taking two steps at a time until he was finally back on the ground. He let out a long sigh, shaking out his mane before walking to the door. He looked back up at Pheona, wondering if she would be angry with him after this.


	51. Chapter 51 Kirin and Cookies

_He trudged through the forest, his magic too low to fly any longer. The black stone that hung from his neck burned cold with ice suddenly, making him flinch in pain as wrinkles appeared on his hands before his eyes. He cursed loudly and looked around, knowing he would have to kill another soon._

Rynu gasped as he woke back up, realizing he had fallen asleep again. Marina was still gone, her confusing outburst still lingering in his mind. He had known Marina ever since Pheona had started learning magic from the keep. He'd never seen her so angry, and he had no idea why.  
"Women." He scoffed in disbelief, rolling his eyes. They were always so confusing.  
He winced as he sat up, still a bit sore but feeling much better. He swung his feet to the floor and stood, wobbling a bit from his stiff legs from lying in bed for so long. He walked out to the living room, seeing Marina talking quietly with Conintor. They both looked up at him as he walked in, neither of them saying anything.  
"Glad to see you too." Rynu muttered, walking over to Medusa who was hanging from a coat rack. He took her into his hands, letting her lay against his shoulders and sighed with relief as her cold scales slid against his warm skin. He figured he still had a fever, but he had been in this place long enough.  
It brought back too many painful memories.  
"You shouldn't be walking around yet." Conintor stood, looking Rynu over carefully. "Your face is still red from your fever. Go lie back down."  
"I'm tired of lying down." Rynu growled.  
Marina scoffed in disbelief and stood, walking over and grabbing his wrist firmly. She dragged him back over to the other room, pushing him so that he was sitting back on his bed.  
"Sleep, or I'll cast a sleeping spell on you. I'm tired of you acting so macho." She said before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.  
Rynu blinked in surprise, sitting on the bed in shock.  
_She could have been a bit gentler._ Medusa hissed by his ear. _Though with you, perhaps it was a good thing she was so rough._  
"What are you talking about?" Rynu looked down at the basilisk as she wound herself around his shoulders.  
_Nothing. Just sleep, Rynu. I can feel how tense your muscles are._ Medusa slid down from his shoulders, slithering to the end of the bed and coiling up. _Pheona would be angry if she saw you walking while still sick.  
_"I can take care of myself." Rynu muttered, but laid back down.  
_Oh? _Medusa laughed. _You are a good magi Rynu, if not a stubborn one. Get some sleep before she comes back in and spells you to sleep._  
Rynu looked down at Medusa, wondering what she knew that he didn't. He grumbled to himself as he laid back down, wondering why everyone was so angry with him.

Keisin closed the book with a sigh, deciding he had had enough of this sorcerer for one day. The man had been psychotic in his etchings- talking about sacrifices and controlling others with thought. It made him feel queasy reading it. He sniffed the air, smelling an enticing smell coming from deeper in the cabin. He looked down at Russet as the hatchling stirred when he had moved.  
"Want to go find that smell?" Keisin waved to the hatchling, not really knowing what else to do.  
Russet let out a loud excited chirp and ran into the doorway, turning left and right before running to the right.  
Keisin laughed and followed him, looking as the hatching went back to the doorway and waited impatiently.  
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Keisin laughed, following Russet down the hall into a large room, filled with the delicious smell. He turned the corner to see Pheona humming softly, a small stone oven baking in the corner of the kitchen. He couldn't help but grin as he saw she was wearing an apron. She looked utterly domestic. For some reason a small part of him warmed at the thought of her cooking for him.  
He snuck up behind her, hooking his arms around her waist and smiling against her cheek.  
"What's cooking, babe?" he said, looking down at the thing she was working on. It looked like… small round disks of some sort.  
"I'm baking cookies." Pheona giggled, squirming out of his grip to take another batch out of the oven. "You probably didn't know I like baking, eh?"  
"What are cookies?" Keisin looked down at the small objects in interest. "They smell amazing."  
Pheona stood and looked at him in shock. "You've never had cookies?"  
"Uh… no. Dad didn't really cook too much more than he needed to." Keisin tried to pick up one of the cookies, flinching when he burned his hand.  
"Let them cool, impatient man." Pheona snickered as she brought another batch over.  
"Mph." Keisin grumbled, putting a hand above a cookie and blowing a small frosty breeze to cool it quicker. He picked it up and bit into it, his blue eyes widening in surprise. "This is awesome!"  
"I'm glad you like them." Pheona chuckled, setting the other cookies down on the counter to cool. She looked up when she heard the familiar clip-clop of Lir's hooves on the wooden floor.  
_Centurion has returned with the- are those cookies?_ Lir looked at the cookies in interest. _You haven't made cookies in years! _He walked over, staring at the cookies yearningly. _Are they cool?_  
"If you ask nicely maybe Keisin will cool one for you._"_ Pheona grinned, untying the apron from her waist and hanging it on a hook by the oven.  
Lir turned to Keisin, his golden eyes wide in pleading, drooping his head and his ears in a pout.  
"Oh Gods. Fine." Keisin laughed at the unicorn's pout, his laughter getting louder as Lir pranced in place happily. Keisin did the same with another cookie, throwing it to Lir who caught it, murring happily as he chewed on it.  
"Now what were you saying about Centurion?" Pheona walked back over, patting Lir on the neck.  
_Ah, yes. Centurion has returned with the kirin._ Lir said, leading them out of the room. _He wishes to speak with you urgently. _  
"Maybe I should bring the kirin a cookie too." Pheona laughed.  
_I am not sure how the kirin would take eating human food. You could try though.  
_"Nah. Let's go see what Centurion and the kirin came up with." Pheona walked out of the room, sighing and dragging Keisin out after he grabbed another cookie.

"Pheona." Centurion smiled in greeting. "It is good to be back. I trust everything was fine while I was gone?"  
"Oh yes, everything was pretty normal. Same as always." Pheona waved a hand dismissively. Lir snorted behind her, but she chose to ignore him.  
"That is good." Centurion stepped backwards to let the kirin step forward, looking at Pheona hesitantly.  
_Centurion has told me much about you, magi Pheona. He says you are trustworthy, and so I will heed his words… _ Zarkash looked to Centurion, who nodded and reached into the pack at his side. He held out a large egg, black with red scales and a large tuft of golden hair flowing down its side.  
"Th-this is…" Pheona stared at the egg in shock, looking to Zarkash.  
_Alice and I are trusting you with our only child. It will be the guardian of this forest when it grows, and Centurion has agreed to teach it the ways of The Balance. _ Zarkash looked to the egg in Centurion's hands, touching his nose against it affectionately. _I trust you will agree to protect it?_ Zarkash looked back over to Pheona.  
"Of course!" Pheona said in shock. She looked to Centurion, knowing he would be able to care for it better than she would- she didn't know the first thing about a kirin.  
_Thank you. I must be back to my forest now, and I will be checking in every now and then to see the little one as it grows. Farewell, magi Pheona. _The kirin turned around, flicking his golden tail as he looked at the egg one last time, running off into the forest toward his home as the sun set behind him.  
Pheona turned to the egg, running a hand along the red scales, marveling at their craggy texture.  
"What is it?" Keisin leaned over, looking at the egg curiously from over her shoulder.  
"It's an autumn kirin egg. But what if I have to leave the keep?" Pheona looked up in panic.  
"Do not worry. That is what Alabast and I are for." Centurion chuckled at her sudden panic. "I'm sure he will be able to find some book of his that concerns kirins, and I know quite a bit about them from my studies with my village. This kirin will be well looked after, you have no need to worry."  
Pheona sighed in relief and set a hand on the egg, feeling a creature inside move against the shell.


	52. Chapter 52 New Enemies and Old Friends

Keisin watched Pheona pace back and forth across the cabin, her expression one of worry.  
"You need to calm down." Keisin sighed.  
"I don't know how to take care of a kirin!" Pheona said for the fifth time.  
"Centurion said it would be alright. Is there another magi around who would know more about them?"  
Pheona stopped pacing, looking up thoughtfully. "Thalia would."  
"Then why don't we go find her?" Keisin stood and walked over to her, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I don't like seeing you worry like this. It's not good for you."  
Pheona sighed and leaned back against him. "Sometimes I can't help it."  
"Well then I'll just have to make you relax." Keisin smiled against her hair, kissing her cheek gently.  
Centurion walked into the cabin, holding the kirin egg carefully.  
"Pheona, Alabast has found-" he stopped as he saw Keisin holding Pheona, talking softly against her cheek as she smiled.  
The centaur grinned warmly and backed out of the cabin silently to leave the two humans alone. He would tell Pheona later.

A man with red hair sat in a bar, drinking the ale in his mug with deep swallows. His green eyes looked around from under his hood, his face hidden in shadow.  
He had seen her. For the first time in years he had seen her- and she had been with another man. His knuckles whitened as his grip on his mug tightened in anger.  
She was his. No one else would have her, no matter how powerful his magic seemed.  
He looked up as an elderly man sat at his table, flipping down a black hood. "I hear you've been looking for me." He said.  
The other man lowered his hood as well, revealing a horribly burned portion of his face, the skin stretched and jumbled with scars. "Yes. My name is Cain. I hear we have enemies in common."  
The elder man's eyebrows raised curiously. "The sorcerer Keisin?"  
"And his woman." Cain added through clenched teeth. "If I can't have her, no one will."  
The elderly man smiled. "You have much darkness in you. That is good. We will work together, magi Cain, to defeat a common enemy."  
They shook hands, Cain smiling darkly.  
"Thank you, sorcerer Isildre."

Rynu laid back in his bed as Conintor healed him.  
"You seem alright now." Conintor said in satisfaction.  
"Good- can I get out of this damned bed, then?" Rynu growled, sitting up.  
"Yes, impatient boy. You should probably have a chat with Marina too." Conintor handed Rynu his black shirt to cover the scars on his chest.  
"About what?" Rynu said as he put it on.  
Conintor rolled his eyes. "Just ask her why she's angry with you."  
Rynu sighed, still not knowing why Marina was acting so strangely.  
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, boy. Women can be fickle." Conintor put a hand on Rynu's shoulder reassuringly.  
Rynu looked up at him with a strange expression. "Sorry, but that's a little strange coming from you." He grinned.  
Conintor laughed and nodded. "Probably, but just the same."  
"Thanks, Con." Rynu said, standing. He walked into the other room, seeing Marina sitting in a chair reading a book, facing away from him, her white hair flowing over her shoulders.  
He knew he shouldn't be afraid of talking with her- he had known her for years, ever since he and Pheona had started studying in The Keep. She had always been easy to talk to.  
Then why was he so nervous?  
He cleared his throat, making Marina look back at him. She looked him over for a moment, making sure he was looking healthier.  
"Con's done healing you?" She asked simply.  
Rynu nodded, not really knowing what to say. He was never really very good at expressing himself.  
Marina sighed and motioned to the seat beside her. "Don't worry, I won't bite."  
Rynu sat in the seat, trying not to look as nervous as he felt. He didn't know what to say- should he ask her what was wrong, or would that just make her angrier? Should he just let her say so, or would she think he was ignoring her?  
Damn he hated this kind of thing.  
"Don't look so frustrated. There's no need for you to be so angry." Marina chuckled at his annoyed expression.  
"I'm not very good at talking." Rynu muttered.  
"You don't need to tell me that." Marina scoffed in amusement. "I've known that for years."  
Rynu looked over at her with a wry smile. "Then you know that you'll probably have to tell me why you're so angry."  
"You don't know?" Marina blinked in surprise.  
Rynu sighed in frustration, leaning further into his chair in embarrassment. "No."  
Marina couldn't help but laugh- he was acting so uneasy. "Do you remember the day you left The Keep to join The Brotherhood?" She asked softly.  
Rynu looked over at her with wide eyes, wondering where she was going with this.  
"Remember what I said?" She urged.  
Rynu blinked in surprise. "You said 'I'll wait.' I never knew what the hell that meant."  
Marina sighed in frustration. "You really are kind of dense, aren't you?"  
Rynu growled in frustration. "Well you're talking in riddles- how am I supposed to know what the hell you're saying if you don't say it?"  
"I'll tell you what. I'll challenge you to a duel- no magic. If you win, I'll tell you exactly how I feel. If I win, you have to figure it out by yourself, and no asking me anymore."  
"You'd never tell me anyway." Rynu scoffed. "Besides, you're just a girl."  
Marina's eyes burned in challenge. "Is that fear I hear?"  
Rynu growled in anger. "Not a chance."  
"Then why are you hesitating? You used to duel me all the time when we were little."  
Rynu watched her for a minute, looking at her thin build and her long hair. There was no way she would ever beat him- he had grown a lot stronger than he had been when they were kids.  
"You're on." Rynu said, standing with a wry smirk. "But I won't go easy on you."  
"I wouldn't want you to." Marina grinned back mischievously. "We'll do it outside behind the stables- that way Con won't have to worry about his trinkets."  
Rynu looked around at the ceramic elk around the room. "Good idea." 


	53. Chapter 53 Peace and Sorrow

Rynu stood across the clearing from Marina, watching her closely as they circled one another. These duels had always excited him- he wouldn't admit it, but he loved to fight.  
He blamed his father for that tendency.  
Marina moved toward him swiftly, catching him by surprise. He grabbed toward her quickly, planning on trapping her arms behind her back, but she twisted away from his grip.  
"You're too slow." She teased, stopping just out of his reach.  
Rynu growled in frustration, grabbing her wrist and pulling her toward him. She let out a squeak of surprise before twisting within his grip so that his arm was behind his back, grabbing his other arm and pushing him forward to the ground.  
He blinked in shock as she sat on his back and laughed happily. "I win."  
Rynu growled in anger, pulling himself out of her grip and flipping her over so that he was on his hands and knees above her, grinning. "Not quite."  
Marina's face turned red as she looked up at him, quickly scooting out from underneath him. "Yes well… I suppose it's a tie then." She said, smoothing down her white hair to hide her blush.  
Rynu sat on the ground in front of her, watching her expectedly.  
"I'm not going to tell you everything- it was a tie. I'll give you a hint though." She leaned toward him, kissing him gently on the cheek.  
He stared at her in shock, his green eyes wide as he watched her blush and look away, standing and running back over to Conintor's house.  
He sat on the ground, not knowing what else to do.  
Marina had… kissed him.  
He definitely hadn't been expecting _that._

Lir trotted over to his mate, holding a large apple in his mouth. He dropped the apple on the ground in front of her, looking up at her hopefully.  
_What did you do?_ Amalthea sighed with exasperation.  
_Is a stallion not allowed to bring a treat to his beautiful mare? Why would that mean I did something bad?_ Lir said defensively, letting out a snort.  
Amalthea stared at him with a frustrated look until he paced in place.  
_Alright, fine! I almost accidentally told… Pheona.  
_Amalthea whinnied in shock. _Lir! I told you that if you did that would disrupt things- none of them can know ANY of what I saw!  
_Lir drooped his head to the ground, his ears flipping back. _I did not mean to. I made her upset._  
Amalthea sighed, looking over to Lir with a wry expression. _I love you dear, but you are sometimes quite dense._  
_So you keep saying._ Lir pouted.  
Amalthea rolled her eyes and looked over in the direction of the cabin. _I think I hear Pheona calling you._  
Lir perked up, nodding to Amalthea before running off in that direction. The mare snorted in amusement. Lir would believe anything.  
She took to a gallop into the forest, prancing around her favorite spot in the forest- a small pool of clear water, surrounded by ferns and cattails, the area around the pond lush with greens. She looked down at her reflection in the water and sighed.  
She sometimes hated her ability- seeing the future put such a tax on her lately that her normally bright purple fur was starting to dull in sheen. She knew Lir had noticed as well- it was why he was so protective of her lately.  
She drank a bit of the water, her lighter purple mane falling into the water, attracting a small fish to nip at the hair curiously. She paused in her drinking, looking down at the fish.  
Being around humans was difficult for her. Lir was a wonderful stallion- he was always willing to help anyone at any time, but she was much more frail than him. The bitter taste that mortality left in her mouth made her cringe at the thought of what was to come.  
She knew it would happen ever since she had met him all those years ago. It was a terrible thing to see a child's future shrouded in so much darkness and death, but it had to come to past in order for the events to continue toward the path of good.  
She closed her eyes in pain, picturing his small face looking up at her with such a horribly blank expression, the little basilisk curled around his neck. He had hesitated to trust her- had even wondered why she had come to him, thinking he was unworthy of her attention.  
She shouldn't think of a human so endearingly. She knew it would only cause pain to befriend a mortal, but she couldn't help it.  
The worst part was that now that the day was finally drawing near, she felt the sudden urge to run over to him and protect him with all her ability- she didn't want the future to come to pass.  
But she knew it must.  
She saw something ripple in the water and opened her eyes wide in surprise as her snout was dripping with tears.  
She was not used to this pain that wracked her body, making her legs shake. She hung her head, trying to get control of herself before someone found her.  
_Pheona did not call me._ Lir said from behind her, standing at the edge of the clearing. Amalthea looked up at him, her eyes wide that he had found her so quickly.  
_Did you really not think I knew your secret place? It smells of you._ Lir walked over to her, nuzzling her gently _It smells like peace and sorrow._  
Amalthea murred sadly against his mane, burying her face in his metallic golden hair. _I do not know know what to do- I do not want him to die!_  
_You told me yourself it is what has to happen. With the good, you must also have the bad. Though I do not like to see you in such pain._ Lir sighed. _Such is the curse and blessings of immortality. While we see our mortal friends die around us, we will get through it together- forever._  
Amalthea looked up at him and nodded slightly, leaning against him. _For being so dense, you always know the right thing to say._  
_I am glad._ Lir said, stepping away from her. _Now, we must go back to the keep. Do you see anything new?_  
Amalthea closed her eyes, letting herself drift away from her body.

"_You will not get near them!" Rynu shouted, glowing with green magic. Keisin held Pheona against his chest as she laid unconscious on the ground. Rynu ran in front of them, holding his arms wide, his teeth bared in anger. _

_No, nothing new._ Amalthea said sadly. It was still the same vision as always.  
_Then we will go and see the others. Perhaps even travel to the city to see Rynu._ Lir said, hoping to cheer her up.  
Amalthea smiled and nodded, walking behind Lir, smiling as he glanced back at her with a smile. He had some human traits from when he had been transformed by the sorcerer- he smiled more, and sighed. She found it terribly endearing.


	54. Chapter 54 Ghosts

_The snow blew through the mountains in cold breezes, the crystals stinging Keisin's face as he walked through the storm back to the tower. He had stayed out for too long this time- he would be in trouble when he got back. He wrapped his arms around his shoulders to keep warm, his insulated blue and silver robe not doing much against the strong wind that blew his blond hair around his face.  
He looked up at the tower in front of him, dreading to go inside. He had wanted to see the gryphons so badly- they mated this time of year, the male cardinal gryphons letting out great cries of challenge to one another and dancing to court the females. Though the winter weather had been dangerous, this only happened once a year.  
He sighed and opened the large wooden door, looking around the tower at the books lying on almost every available surface. His father had been studying again- something was still bothering him.  
"Where did you go, Keisin. You know it's dangerous out there in this weather." A voice said from the large brown chair in the living room, his father looking around the side of the chair with a dark expression.  
Keisin flinched and walked over to his own chair, flopping down in it lazily. "I wanted to see the gryphons, dad."  
"What is your fascination with those creatures?" The sorcerer Lourn looked across the room at his son in confusion. His brown hair was scruffy, blue eyes watching Keisin carefully.  
Keisin only shrugged, unable to answer.  
Lourn rolled his eyes. "You got that from your mother, you know. Her and all her strange little animals."  
Keisin looked up in surprise. His father didn't usually mention anything about his mother- the memories pained him too much.  
Keisin looked across the room uneasily. "What did mom look like?"  
Lourn looked up in surprise and sighed. "She had blond hair- just like yours. Green eyes like the trees in the summer, and always loved to climb up the mountains. When she was pregnant with you, she would always climb to the top of the tower and watch the sky."  
Keisin nodded, not really knowing what to say. He looked at the blond hair falling in front of his eyes, seeing his appearance with a new view. He had his mother's hair- that somehow comforted him. Since he had died giving birth to him, he had never seen her. She was almost like a ghost in his life- always there through his appearance and his father, but always unseen.  
"So what are you studying?" Keisin looked over at his father curiously. The man was sitting in his large brown chair, wearing the fur-lined robe that told Keisin he was in 'study mode' while reading his books.  
"A defense spell. The dragons in the area are getting more and more aggressive toward humans." Lourn sighed with dismay. "I'd rather not kill them, but if I have to I will."  
Keisin felt a strange sinking dread fall through him. "Be careful, okay?"  
Lourn looked up curiously at his son. "Of course. Have I ever failed you yet?"  
"No." Keisin said, looking over to the window at the snow blowing outside.  
"Then don't worry so much. I'll be fine." Lourn smiled reassuringly._

Keisin woke up with a yell, looking around him with wide eyes. Russet jumped up with a loud growl beside him, looking at him with an annoyed expression.  
Keisin sighed in relief as he saw he was lying in the cabin at Avalon, on Pheona's wooden floor as she slept to keep her company. Since the incident with Lir, he had decided it was best that he saw on the floor of her room, to avoid any more… confusion.  
"Are you okay?" Pheona looked over the side of the bed, her red eyes droopy with sleep.  
Keisin smiled up at her. "Yeah- just another dream."  
Pheona watched him for a minute before settling down to listen. "What about?"  
Keisin let out a long sigh, running his hand through his blond hair. He looked up at the locks of the golden hair falling in front of his face, remembering it had been the same color as his mother's. He had almost forgotten. "The dream was about the day before my dad died. He had told me about mom. He never really said much, so I knew something was wrong. I just had no idea he would die like that."  
Pheona looked down at him in concern. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
Keisin looked down at Russet as the hatchling sat in his lap, looking up at him in concern. "Pheona, do you remember your parents?"  
Pheona stayed silent for a bit. "Only vaguely. They died 12 years ago now." She sighed.  
"How old are you? I thought you said you were 10 when Avalon burned." Keisin looked up at her in surprise.  
"I'm 22." Pheona smiled wryly. "How old did you think I was?"  
"Younger." Keisin shrugged. "You're about my age then- I'm 23."  
"Mmm, I thought you were older." Pheona giggled.  
Keisin smiled up at her warmly, making her blush and sink down into her sheets a little. She loved his smiles- it made her stomach do little flips. "But I do remember them a little- but mostly just vague memories of them doing things. Dad liked to be with the phoenix a lot, mom was more into unicorns."  
"No wonder." Keisin rolled his eyes with a grin.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Pheona laughed. She knew it was true- she had gained a love of phoenix and unicorns from both her parents.  
"I used to like watching the cardinal gryphons by my tower. They would dance around each other during their mating season- I liked watching them."  
"I'd bet that would be cool. I've never seen a cardinal gryphon dance like that." Pheona said wistfully. She hadn't seen a lot of things in this world that she'd like to see.  
"Dad always said I got that from my mom. Apparently she liked animals a lot." Keisin held up Russet, who chirped happily in his grip. He bounced the hatchling up and down a few times, smiling as it let out a happy trill at being played with. "I've always been a little afraid to learn more about her. What if she's not who I thought she was?"  
Pheona smiled softly. "Parents are never perfect, Keisin. I'm sure she tried her best to get through it, but… maybe it was just her time. Is there any way you can learn more about her?" Pheona looked down at him curiously.  
Keisin leaned over to his sack, taking out a small book and tossing it up onto her bed.  
Pheona looked down at the book, opening the page and looking down with surprise at the scrolling text. It was obviously a woman's handwriting.  
"Dad said that book was her diary- I've always been afraid to read it." Keisin sighed.  
"I could always read it for you, if it pains you too much, and I can tell you things about her." Pheona suggested, moving back to the edge of the bed so she could look down at him.  
"I think that'd be okay." Keisin nodded. "I really want to learn more about her, but… I don't know if I do." He sighed and put a hand up to his face. "That doesn't even make any sense."  
"You're afraid that what you read won't match the picture you've made of her." Pheona said softly.  
"Exactly. I don't want to think of her in a bad way."  
"Keisin- she was human. Everyone has bad traits, even mothers." Pheona reached over the side of the bed, running a hand through his hair gently. "It's good you want to learn about your mom, and I'm happy I can help you."  
Keisin nodded, sighing happily under her touch. "Alright. You can start reading it, but only a little a day, okay?"  
"Alright. Get some sleep, tough guy." Pheona giggled and moved back onto the bed to get some sleep herself.


	55. Chapter 55 April

Pheona looked down at the small blue book Keisin had given her to read. She opened the cover, looking down at the title of the book in dismay. Somehow it had gotten smudged- the only thing she was able to work out was 'Air t p' The rest was too smudged to make out the letters. She flipped through a few blank pages before finding legible text with a sigh of relief.

_Lourn has given me this book to write in, but I honestly don't know where to start. My name is Lola. I am from Arkene, and came to meet the sorcerer Lourn through… an incident in the mountains. His reputation as a trickster is well deserved, but I doubt he expected to find someone who outsmarted him at his own game! We fell in love, and well… here I am. I am expecting my first child- and honestly I'm quite nervous. I've heard children of sorcerers are born normal humans with no magic. How would that work with me? Would it be born with magic regardless? I get quite nervous thinking of the possibilities, and the implications that arise. Lourn assures me that many generations of sorcerers have been born safely, but… I don't think he understands.  
Could it be that he doesn't realize that I am, even after all this time?_

Pheona looked down at the pages in confusion, trying to figure out what the woman was talking about. Why would Keisin have been born with magic if sorcerers were normally only humans before they got their amulets?  
Did that mean his mother had magic abilities?  
That would mean…  
She looked up in surprise as a knock sounded at the door. Keisin looked into the room from the kitchen, his cheeks puffed with food.  
"Thumwun's here." Keisin said, cookie crumbs flying out of his mouth.  
"Brilliant deduction." Pheona laughed at his obsession with her cookies. "Don't eat too many of those, they're not good for you." She stood and walked over to the door as Keisin pouted and walked into the living room, swallowing his mouthful of cookies.  
"Ooh, but they taste so good." Keisin grinned as she walked over to the door.  
Pheona opened the door and was tackled by a woman, making Keisin blink in surprise.  
"Phoe! Are you okay? I can't believe you were attacked like that!" April looked Pheona over with wide eyes, looking her over. The black tienko on her shoulder gripped onto her robe for balance, looking at its magi with an annoyed expression.  
"I'm fine." Pheona laughed, moving back from April.  
"Thank Gods. First that rewin, and now this." April shook her head in dismay, her golden hair swinging around her shoulders. "Something's going on, and it can't be good."  
"Rewin?" Phoena said curiously, looking behind her as Keisin stepped forward, listening as well.  
"Over by the ocean I found a Rewin and a poor little hatchling. Its mother had been killed." April looked at the ground sadly. "It was… terrible."  
"Sounds like what happened to Russet." Keisin said grimly. "I wonder what could be killing all of these creatures so quickly?"  
"Russet?" April looked up in surprise.  
"He's a hatchling we found with a dead mother- where is he, anyway?" Keisin looked around, starting to look worried. Russet was almost always sitting either near or on his feet. He spotted a red blur jumping behind April, chirping in frustration.  
"Ah, don't do that!" Keisin moved quickly to get a hold of the hatchling as it tried to grab at the black tienko's swinging tail with its beak, missing every jump. Keisin grabbed it in mid-air, looking down at the gryphon in frustration.  
"Ooooh, he's sooo cute!" April squealed happily, patting the creature on the head. The black tienko meowed in jealously on her shoulder, glaring at the hatchling.  
Russet chirped, holding his paws up to her for her to hold him.  
"Oh, can I?" April looked up to Keisin, holding her hands out to take Russet.  
"Sure." Keisin shrugged, handing Russet over to April, who tickled the hatchling, making it growl and trill.  
The tienko let out a low mrowl in annoyance, jumping over to Keisin's shoulder and sitting there watching.  
"That's unusual." April looked at her tienko in surprise.  
"What?" Keisin glanced at the tienko, hoping it wouldn't scratch him.  
"Usually Diablo isn't so friendly with strangers." April said, watching the tienko lick its paw idly.  
"Animals have always liked me. It's no big deal." Keisin said, shrugging and making the cat murr in annoyance.  
"Well, either way-" April leaned down and set Russet on the floor, holding her arm out to Diablo so he could walk back onto her shoulder. "I stopped by to check that you were okay. That was quite a fight that broke out. Is Rynu okay too?"  
"He got a pretty good blast, but he's okay. Marina is with him." Pheona nodded.  
"Oh, he'll be fine then." April smirked. "I should really get going though- I'm heading into the city to meet someone-"  
"Zach?" Pheona grinned wryly. "You two are so cute."  
April looked at her and blushed. "We're not like that!"  
Pheona waved a hand dismissively. "Neither were we." Pheona said, before motioning to her and Keisin.  
April's blush deepened and she muttered something under her breath. "Are you a magi, then?" She looked to keisin. He wasn't dressed like one.  
"No. I'm a sorcerer." Keisin smiled.  
April froze in surprise, staring at him for a minute before glancing to Pheona. "And you're okay with that?"  
Pheona smiled softly and nodded. "Even though he's a sorcerer, he's different than those I've met so far. Just like there are good and bad magi, there are good and bad sorcerers."  
Keisin smiled warmly, glad she understood.  
"That's good. I was wondering how he was able to use so much magic." April glanced at Keisin with a smirk, who shrugged casually.  
"He does go overboard sometimes." Pheona chuckled. "OH!" her eyes widened in realization. "April- did you bring Nutmeg with you?"  
"Of course. She's out talking with Lir and Amalthea." April looked out the open door to the chestnut kirin talking with the two unicorns, her tail swishing behind her.  
"Oh good- I was hoping you could tell me some things about autumn kirin." Pheona said, turning back to April.  
"Oh, well… autumn kirin are different from chestnut kirin." April said uneasily. "Thalia would probably know more about those."  
Pheona sighed. "Yeah- do you know if she's at her keep?"  
"Not sure. It never hurts to check though." April smiled.  
Pheona nodded, letting out a soft sigh. "I just don't want to leave it alone for too long."  
"Leave what alone? You're usually the unicorn girl- not kirin." April said, tilting her head curiously.  
"Oh- a kirin gave me an egg. I don't really know how to take care of it."  
April's eyes widened with her head still tilted. "Why did a kirin give you an egg?"  
"The kirin that usually looks over this forest is… gone." Pheona shook her head in dismay. "Lir thinks she was killed."  
April looked uneasy and looked back out to Nutmeg. "Well, I'll send word to Thalia that you're looking for her. If I see her, I'll tell her to head this way."  
"Alright April. Thanks for stopping by." Pheona shook her friend's hand in farewell with a smile.  
"No problem- I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Have fun you two- and be careful." April said, walking over to Nutmeg. She mounted the kirin and waved back to them before she rode off through the forest.


	56. Chapter 56 Misfortune

_Though it seems it is all around me, I have never been one for magic studies. If I were, I would have gone to The Keep long ago to hone my skills. All I know are small healing spells, and even those are not strong enough to help much besides scrapes and bruises. I cannot even be called a real magi. This upset me once, but now I have learned to accept it. It seems that Lourn has enough magic for the both of us- what with his weather spells and studies on the effects of snow. He has tries to teach me spells, but I never seem to have the aptitude to master them- they always fizzle out.  
Oh well. I just hope our child will have better luck than I have._

Pheona looked down with dismay at the small book. Well, she had hoped she had read the last part wrong, but that was the clincher. Keisin was definitely part magi, if not a weak part. That means they would never be able to have children together.  
"Hey Pheona" Keisin walked behind her with a limp, looking down at her frown with a concerned expression. "Why the sad face, babe?"  
"Well, your mom's name was Lola. She was a magi." Pheona said softly.  
Keisin blinked in surprise and chuckled. "Well that explains quite a bit. Including why Russet has latched himself to my leg and won't let go." Keisin brought his leg up to show her, the gryphon wrapping its arms and legs around his shin tightly.  
"Russet- let go of his leg, you're probably making his foot sore." Pheona chuckled, prying the hatchling from Keisin's leg. Russet let out a little whining sound and let go, drooping in Pheona's grip.  
"Why were you frowning, then? Is me being part magi a bad thing?" Keisin took Russet and set the hatchling on his shoulder.  
"Magi can't have children together. I've always wanted kids." Pheona sighed.  
Keisin frowned. "Delroch crap, that can't be right. Why would they not be able to have kids?"  
"The magic messes with it- I don't really know how or why."  
"Well I have different magic than a magi. Maybe that will be enough difference." Keisin sighed and wrapped his arms around Pheona's shoulders. "I wouldn't worry about it- that's a ways down the road anyway."  
Pheona smiled and nodded, leaning her head against one of his arms. "You're right- I shouldn't worry about such things yet. Besides, you have your hands full already."  
Pheona looked up at him and laughed as Russet played with Keisin's blond bangs that fell into his face, batting the lock of hair with his front talons. Keisin sighed in exasperation, but decided to let the hatchling have his fun.

Amalthea let out a determined snort and looked around, hoping no one was watching. There were far too many creatures in this keep- there were eyes everywhere.  
She hoped Lir would forgive her for going off on her own- but she had to see the boy again, just this one last time. She didn't need her stallion watching her every move along the way. He was far too overprotective of her.  
She dashed into the forest once she saw no one was looking, whinnying in joy at the fact she was finally doing something on her own. She had never been as brave as Lir- but she had finally made up her mind to just go for it, and head to Synara city on her own. She trotted through the forest on the animal trail, her hooves lifting high with anticipation with each step.

Rynu sat on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a dark frown. He was still trying to figure out how to deal with Marina. The fact that she had kissed him told him that she obviously liked him as more than a friend- but… he had known her since they were kids. The thought of seeing her in that way made part of him cringe. She was his cousin's best friend- how could he possibly think it was okay to be with her?  
He growled in frustration and put his fists up to his forehead, beating his skull to think of an answer. He felt a twinge of pain in his left shoulder and sat up quickly, raising his sleeve and looking down at his tattoo. The serpent squirmed against its containment, its red eyes flashing and fangs bared in anger.  
Something was obviously happening. Maybe… maybe he could use the connection to his own advantage.  
If Demetre could see him through the link, why couldn't he try and spy on Demetre as well?  
He closed his eyes, focusing his magic on the serpent tattoo that writhed against his skin, making his shoulder burn with pain. It twisted and fought against him until finally it lay silent, its mouth still baring its fangs angrily.

_The forest was dark, though it was midday. He rushed through the trees in stealth, glad he had left that buffoon behind. The magi walked with all the subtleties of an ashevor- constantly squawking. He looked through the branches of the trees below and nearly let out a cry of triumph. A dark unicorn walked below him, trotting happily along her way. She stopped and looked up at the sound of the leaves rustling and continued when she saw nothing.  
He would have to be careful with her- but if he succeeded, he would not need to kill another for many weeks. He rushed out of the trees and landed in front of the creature, which reared in shock at a person suddenly impeding her path. She lowered and looked at him with innocent eyes, tilting her head in confusion.  
This would be all too easy._

Rynu gasped and bolted out of his bed, ignoring the searing pain of his shoulder as the serpent started its struggles again.  
"CONINTOR!" Rynu yelled through the house, making Con look at him with an annoyed expression.  
"Why are you being so loud, boy?" Conintor said, drying a dish with a towel as he walked into the hallway.  
"I need your fastest mount- he's going to attack Amalthea- please." Rynu said quickly.  
Conintor nodded and they ran to the stables. Conintor opened the gate that held a large female white elk, a large red sash of bells hanging around her neck.  
"This is Saiga. She'll get you there in time." Conintor slid a saddle onto the elk's back as she pranced in anticipation. Conintor tightened the saddle and helped Rynu onto the large creature's back.  
"Hurry lad- don't let him get that unicorn." Conintor said, patting Saiga on the rump and clicking three times, loudly. The elk burst into a full gallop, Rynu holding onto her reins as he sped into the forest.


	57. Chapter 57 Dark Savior

Saiga's hooves pounded against the forest floor as she sped with Rynu through the trees. Her bells jingled loudly with each step, making Rynu grind his teeth in frustration- at this rate they would hear him from a mile away. He reached behind him to a scabbard that was attached to the back of his belt and unseathed a long curved knife, cutting through the ribbon until it fell to the forest behind him. Saiga glanced back at it for only a moment before concentrating on her run.  
Rynu kept his blade out, flipping it so that the blunt of the blade was held against his forearm- he would need it.  
He looked around, starting to recognize the trees from his vision. He slowed Saiga by pulling on the leather reigns, the elk letting out a snort as she gradually slowed to a canter before stopping. He slid down from her back and crept through the brush, his black hair and outfit making him all but invisible in the dark shadows of the forest.  
Rynu looked up as a loud whinny of shock sounded out, Amalthea running into the clearing in front of him as she tried to evade her attacker. She swirled her horn in a quick circle, a silver sheen filling the area around her as she paced nervously. Rynu crouched low to the ground as he waited for Demetre, his hand holding the knife shaking with fear- he would have to do this quickly, before the sorcerer could cast a spell on him. It had to be a quick kill, or he was doomed.  
A man with dark hair rushed into the clearing, his black cape flying behind him as he stopped across from Amalthea, his hands raised.  
This was it.  
Rynu burst out of the bushes and ran as quickly as he could, leaping into the air and yelling out a loud yell of anger as he unfurled his knife. Demetre froze, unable to turn around to defend himself before Rynu's blade plunged into the man's back, buried to the hilt from the momentum of his body falling from his jump.  
Rynu landed on his feet and grabbed his knife, holding onto the hilt as he kicked the man to the ground, the blade freeing itself from his body with a sickly sound.  
A low laughter started from Demetre as he laid on the ground, his black cape covering most of his body. Rynu growled in anger and flipped the man over by pushing his side with his boot.  
"Carlile." Rynu hissed in frustration, realizing he had only killed one of Demetre's hunters. He grabbed Carlile by the collar, raising him so that he was eye level. "Where's Demetre?" He yelled furiously.  
Carlile only laughed again, blood trickling down his chin. "He's far away from here, idiot."  
Rynu brought his bloody knife up, setting it against Carlile's neck threateningly. "Tell me where he is- where is he going?"  
"Where do you think? That bastard sorcerer managed to destroy his store of magic. Now he has to go back to his tower."  
"Raza." Rynu spat in anger. "Great- he's heading back to Raza."  
"You'll never be able to defeat him, Rynu. He'll kill you just like he killed Dela. You'll die, and that precious cousin of yours will be his for the taking. He'll destroy the sorcerer and take his soul for his own. You'll never be able to fight him."  
Rynu let out a defiant yell and slit the man's throat with a clean swipe to shut him up, letting him drop to the ground. He wiped the blood off his knife on his pants and sheathed it again, looking down at Carlile's body in frustration. He had thought he could have ended it all- instead, Demetre was miles away.  
A small sound made him look up, realizing Amalthea was still standing in the clearing across from him. She watched him with wide eyes, glancing to the dead man before looking back to him, but didn't move from her spot.  
Rynu sighed with dismay when he saw the unicorn's legs shaking slightly with fear. "I don't blame you for being afraid of me." Rynu said, wiping the man's blood off his cheek with his sleeve. "I just wanted to make sure you were safe, after all you've done for me."  
Amalthea let out a strange keening sound, running over to him and setting her snout against his cheek, a small amount of blood mixing onto her fur.  
"Hey- don't do that, I'm still messy." Rynu said in frustration, holding his bloodied arms back from her. She moved back and swung her horn, a sharp misty breeze rushing around him, cleaning all of the blood off his clothes and skin, but also making his hair gnarl into a great big knot.  
"Oh great." Rynu said, running his hands through his shoulder length curly black hair in frustration. "Thank you, though."  
Amalthea could not help but snicker at his hair- it looked like a giant puff ball.  
"Why are you here without Lir, anyway? It's dangerous for any creature in these forests, none the less a unicorn." Rynu said, still trying to smooth out his hair.  
Amalthea murred softly, stepping forward and setting her snout against his hand, looking at him with wide eyes.  
"I don't know what you're saying." Rynu said in frustration.  
Amalthea snorted and moved back, motioning to the elk that stood on the edge of the clearing, sniffing a clump of weed to see if it was good to eat.  
"What, you want me to go back?" Rynu looked to the unicorn, wishing he could hear what she was saying. He was suddenly envious that Pheona could speak with Lir.  
Amalthea nodded her head, her purple mane flying.  
"Alright, we'll head back to Synara. I should probably wash my clothes anyway." He knew Amalthea had cleaned them for him, but he could still smell blood on them. He walked over to Saiga, hoisting himself back into her saddle. "Though I think we should pick up her bells too- Conintor will be angry I cut them off."  
Saiga snorted in agreement and they set back off to Synara.

Conintor watched Rynu ride Saiga into the stables, Amalthea following close behind. He rushed out to see Rynu holding the bells that had been wrapped around Saiga's neck cut in his hands.  
"Rynu- did you cut that? Those cost me 500 gold!" Conintor said in frustration, taking the bells from him.  
"Sorry Con, they were making too much noise." Rynu dismounted from Saiga, patting the elk in the neck in thanks.  
Amalthea whickered to the elk in thanks, who nodded back.  
"Well, I'm glad the lass is alright. What happened to Demetre, then?"  
"It wasn't Demetre- it was just one of his hunters. I killed him." Rynu said, his voice bitter.  
Conintor hesitated for a minute before wrinkling his nose. "You smell like blood- are you alright?"  
"I'm fine. Amalthea's safe and that's what counts." Rynu said, unlatching the saddle from Siaga's back with ease- it was obvious he had a lot of practice with the elk saddles.  
"Rynu, you should be more concerned about yourself too. There are those of us who care for you as a son, you know." Conintor said softly.  
Rynu looked up at Conintor in surprise- usually he didn't call Rynu by his name- it was always 'lad' 'laddy' or 'kid'. "I know." He said sadly. "I forget that sometimes."  
Amalthea snorted from behind him, bumping his back with her snout.  
"Alright, alright." Rynu said in frustration. "I'll be more careful from now on." He growled and walked over to the cabin to wash his clothing, unable to help a small smile at the realization that maybe he had a home after all.


	58. Chapter 58 Heading Home

Marina walked up behind Rynu to see how he was doing by a pond near Conintor's stable, smiling at his frustrated grumbles as he scrubbed his shirt. His shoulders still had smears of blood on them, making her falter slightly at the sight.  
"If you don't like the sight of blood, then don't come any closer." Rynu said, his voice bitter as he watched his black tunic. "There's more of it than I thought there was."  
Marina sighed and sat down beside him, glancing at his numerous scars around his shoulders, chest and back. "Are you okay, then?"  
" 'M fine." Rynu muttered, scrubbing his tunic and growling in anger when a stain wouldn't come out. Marina sighed and took the tunic from him, holding it beneath the water and holding her hand over it, the water suddenly churning around the cloak.  
"You're a liar. You're bothered about something, I can tell." She said casually, glancing over at him from the corners of her eyes.  
Rynu looked over at her and sighed. "How do you know me so well?"  
Marina smiled softly, and chuckled. "I've known you for many years, Rynu. You learn how someone acts in that kind of time."  
Rynu suddenly looked uneasy as he glanced over to her. "I don't know you like that."  
Marina's smile turned wry as she took his tunic out of the water, which was now clean. "That can change with time."  
Rynu nodded simply, taking his shirt. "Thanks." He held it for a minute, not wanting to put it on while it was wet. "Though something has been bothering me."  
Marina tilted her head in question.  
"When I fought the man who was going to kill Amalthea, he said he would take Keisin's soul… well sorcerers' souls are kept in amulets."  
Marina raised her eyebrows in interest. "Can you just take a sorcerer's amulet like that, then?"  
"Yes- they don't have a soul without it. There must be something more to this…" Rynu thought for a minute, staring into the water in front of him. "I should go back to Carlile's body and see if he has anything.  
"Just be careful. You know better than anyone how dangerous The Brotherhood can be." Marina looked over at him in concern.  
Rynu nodded, looking at her wide cyan eyes for a minute before standing. "I'll be back- I have to check."

Rynu walked into the stable, seeing Amalthea chatting idly with the elk that Conintor took care of. She looked up when Rynu walked in, whinnying happily and trotting over to touch her snout to his forehead affectionately.  
"Hey Amalthea. I've come to ask you a big favor if you'd be willing to do it." Rynu patted her on the neck gently.  
The unicorn murred curiously, watching him with her blue eyes.  
"I need go to back to Carlile to see something. It's bugging me, and I need to check to see if he has something."  
Amalthea hesitated before nodding gently, looking uneasy.  
"If you don't want to, I'll understand. I'll call Yin over to fly me there, but he's still tired from the trip here. Enox don't have the constitution unicorns do."  
Amalthea nodded, watching him expectantly.  
"I was wondering if you'd let me ride you back to where Carlile is. I don't want to leave you here in the city by yourself."  
Amalthea looked amused, and Rynu grunted in frustration. "it's not because I don't trust Con, I just don't want something bad to happen to you."  
Amalthea nodded and turned around so that her side was facing him. He smiled gratefully and climbed onto her back, hanging onto her mane as she galloped back into the forest.

Rynu covered his mouth with his shirt as he approached Carlile, Amalthea staying well away from the dead man. Rynu rooted through the man's clothes, hating that he had to do so until he found what he was looking for. He broke the delicate chain off Carlile's neck and held it up in front of him to examine- it was a silver necklace with a green stone in the middle, swirling with a familiar mist within the stone's depths.  
"Shit, this is what I was afraid of." Rynu said, putting the amulet into one of his pants' pockets. He walked back over to Amalthea and mounted back up on her.  
"Time to head back to the city, Amalthea. I need to show this to Con, and then we're heading to Avalon. Keisin will want to have a look at this." Rynu said, holding on as Amalthea turned and ran back toward the city, looking back at him curiously.

Rynu dismounted from Amalthea's back, walking into Conintor's house with a dark expression. Con looked up at him curiously, standing with a frown as he saw something was wrong.  
"I found this on Carlile." Rynu said, taking the amulet out of his pocket and holding it up.  
"What is it?" Conintor asked, taking it into his hand to look closer at it.  
"it's a sorcerer's amulet." Rynu said, putting it back in his pocket. "I think they're using it to give Demetre their magic."  
"That doesn't sound good." Conintor muttered. "How did they get a sorcerer's amulet? I thought there weren't many of them left."  
"There's not. I don't know where he found it, but Keisin might know. I'm going to head over to Avalon to ask." Rynu looked up as Marina came into the room, watching him with concern.  
"You're heading to Avalon already? Do you think you'll be okay for traveling that far on your own?" She asked softly.  
Rynu smirked in amusement. "I think I'll be good."  
"Well I'd like to go see Pheona either way. I'll come with you." Marina said casually, walking over to her things to pack them up.  
"But-" Rynu watched her with panic.  
"What? You don't want me to come with you?"  
"Well no- but… "  
"Oh I see. I'm a girl so I shouldn't come with you- is that it?" Marina said bitterly.  
"No! I just-" Rynu stuttered, looking to Conintor for help, who only shrugged.  
"Just what?" Marina stood, her hands on her hips.  
"I don't want you to get hurt." Rynu muttered, walking out the door and slamming it behind him.  
Conintor chuckled in amusement as Marina stared at the door in surprise. "You sure know how to play that boy, Marina. Just don't make him too angry- that boy has a temper just like his cousin."  
"Thanks Con." Marina smiled and continued packing her things as Rynu walked back inside, grumbling that he needed to get his things together.


	59. Chapter 59 The Lost Race

Rynu walked back into the stables ahead of Marina, Medusa curled around his shoulders. He was glad to have the familiar weight of her cold scales against his shoulders- it was somehow comforting. He looked over to Amalthea, who was starting to look nervous.  
"What's wrong?" Rynu walked over to her, setting a hand against her neck gently.  
The unicorn only looked at him sadly, and let out a long sigh. She faced him sideways, knowing why they were there. She was offering a ride to them.  
"Thank you. You must have read my mind." Rynu smiled, climbing onto the unicorn mare's back and helping Marina up as well. Amalthea hesitated from the weight for a moment before trotting out of the stable.  
"Good luck, kids. Don't get into too much trouble." Conintor waved to them as they left. Rynu raised a hand in farewell as Amalthea broke into a gallop down the street back toward Avalon.

_It has been far too long since I have returned to Arkene, my hometown. I miss the white stone of the city, the glistening snow in the winter. Lourn has promised that we should visit the city after the birth of our child- it is after all the city where his race originated. He has told me much about the history of the sorcerers- their quest for stones deep in the caves, and the significance of what stones they find. Apparently they are not at all normal- they are already filled with a soul when they come out of the ground…Something about a 'lost race'. He confounds me with his stories at times. I like to think of our child listening to his stories day after day, learning of the world through words before adventuring out of their own. I just hope he does not fill their heads with dreams that all in the world is good. No, there is great darkness as well._

Pheona closed the book, looking out the window at Lir as he stood in front of the cabin, looking particularly angry. She had never seen him act this way- he was positively bristling with his frustration. The worst part is that he wouldn't tell her why.  
"I wouldn't worry about him." Keisin said, looking up from his own book to see her concerned expression. "He's probably just frustrated about Amalthea running off."  
"I'm sure she had good reason." Pheona said softly, looking out to him. "Besides, they have a mind link- why would it be a big deal that she left?"  
Keisin glanced up at her over the cover of his book. "I'd be annoyed if you left without telling me where you were. Especially if you were going somewhere dangerous."  
Pheona sighed and rolled her eyes. Why were men sometimes so overprotective? She needed to go placed and do things- it was part of who she was.  
"Don't roll your eyes with me. If you're going somewhere dangerous I want to go with you." Keisin smiled. "Besides, wouldn't you want the company?"  
Pheona chuckled. "I suppose so."  
She jumped as Lir whinnied loudly outside, looking out the window to see Amalthea riding toward the cabin, looking concerned when she saw Lir. Rynu and Marina were riding on her back, and both slid off when Amalthea stopped in front of the cabin. Rynu walked inside, a dark look on his face.  
"Why the glower?" Keisin put his book down, leaning forward as Rynu brought something out of his pocket.  
"Why would a magi have a sorcerer's amulet?" Rynu said, tossing the necklace over to Keisin.  
Keisin caught it and looked down at it with wide blue eyes. "You got this from a magi? Where? How?"  
"One of Demetre's hunters. They hunt creatures to kill them, and I don't know why. I don't think this is about poaching anymore, this is about something much bigger- and worse."  
Pheona walked over to Keisin, looking over his shoulder at the black stone. "You don't think that still has a sorcerer's soul in it, do you?"  
"No, if it's been apart from the sorcerer long enough, they're absorbed into the stone. That's the pact."  
"Pact?" Rynu said in confusion. "You talk as if there's another person involved."  
"Sort of." Keisin held up the stone, letting it swing from his hand. "All sorcerer stones are originally members of the Lost Race. Ever heard of them?"  
Rynu and Marina shook their heads, and Pheona blinked in surprise. "Your mom was talking about that in the book."  
Keisin glanced at her in surprise and nodded. "The Lost Race was the first race that the Gods made- they became so arrogant the Gods turned them into stones. Each sorcerer's stone is made from one of the Lost Race."  
Rynu stared at the stone in shock. "So you're wearing a person trapped in a stone? I'm sorry, but that's really creepy."  
Keisin chuckled. "When you put it that way, yeah. Each sorcerer has to make a pact with the Lost Race member in the stone that they'll keep them safe in exchange for the ability to use magic like we do. They like seeing the world outside of the caves."  
"I'll bet after such a long time you'd get bored." Pheona nodded, and leaned in closer to look at the amulet. "So wait… does that mean they the stone can still carry magic?"  
Keisin nodded. "As long as the sorcerer's pact is still in effect, even though he died the stone will still hold magic."  
Rynu paused for a moment, glancing to Pheona uneasily. "So… could the magic be… transferred to another amulet?"  
Keisin blanched visibly at the thought. "I suppose they could be with the right spells. That's very dark magic, though."  
"I don't like the sounds of this. It sounds like this guy has dark magi killing creatures to steal their magic for himself… that's not really happening, is it?" Marina said, her voice hitching with horror.  
Rynu nodded. "I'm thinking that's exactly what's going on. He said Demetre is heading toward Raza. He has some sort of home there."  
Keisin lowered the amulet, looking determined. "It's probably where his tower is. We can't let him get there- it's where a sorcerer keeps all his spells."  
Rynu shook his head in disbelief. "This is getting bad- how the hell are we supposed to get to Raza that fast? He has nearly a week's gain on us."  
Pheona glanced out the window at Lir. "Uh… Lir could. He can do one of his runs, but I don't think he could carry all four of us. Plus there's the egg to deal with. I still have to meet Thalia."  
"Egg?" Rynu looked at her in confusion. "What egg?"  
"A kirin left me an autumn kirin egg to raise to be the guardian of this forest. I don't really know how to raise one though, I'm a unicorn person." Pheona sighed with dismay. "How am I supposed to be in three places at once?"  
Rynu and Keisin glanced at each other, and Keisin grinned. "Well good thing you have us, huh? I'll go try and find this… Thalia woman, and you can wait in Synara with Lir and Marina. Rynu can get supplies for the trip, and we'll head back to Avalon long enough to tell Centurion what Thalia said, and then head to try and cut Demetre off from Raza."  
"But how will we get there? Pheona said Lir can't carry four people." Marina pointed to herself and Rynu.  
"Amalthea might be able to." Rynu said, looking out the window at the two unicorns, his eyebrows raising in surprise when Lir looked positively furious, his hooves stomping on the ground before he trotted into the forest, leaving Amalthea by herself. "Besides, I think she needs a distraction for a bit. She's been pretty upset for some reason."  
Pheona nodded, having noticed that as well. "Alright, sounds like a plan." She sighed, hating to feel rushed like this. "I just hope we can make it in time."


	60. Chapter 60 Meeting Thalia

Pheona walked over to Lir, uneasy about asking him a favor when he was in this sort of mood. He was chewing on grass idly, his golden eyes hard with anger.  
"Lir? Are you okay?" Pheona walked over to him, putting a hand on the large unicorn's side comfortingly.  
_I am fine, just frustrated that my mate cares nothing for my protection._ Lir continued chewing grass, not looking up at Pheona.  
"I'm sure she had a good reason why she wanted to go see Rynu." Pheona said softly, running a hand along his neck to sooth him.  
Lir snorted, and brought his head up to look at her. _It is strange, she thinks of you two as her children._  
Pheona blinked in shock. "She does?"  
_I told you it was strange. She has seen you grow from children to adults- and we have both taken care of you as much as we have been able to. I see you as a charge, but not as a child._ Lir said uneasily.  
"Well I'm glad she cares for me so much, and I'm sure Rynu would be too." Probably even more so than herself- but she wouldn't say that out loud.  
Lir nodded, looking to her with a softer expression. _What is the matter, little one? You look as if you are afraid of something._  
"Well, remember that guy who tried to kill us at the dance?"  
Lir snorted._ As if I would forget._  
"Well apparently he's trying to get to Raza. Keisin says that if he gets there before us, we won't be able to stop him from killing more creatures. Apparently he's stealing their powers."  
_I know. He tried to take Amalthea._ Lir said, a low murr coming from him as his mane bristled in anger.  
"He did?" Pheona gasped. No wonder he was so upset- his mate had almost been killed, and he hadn't been around to protect her.  
Lir simply nodded, not wanting to say anything else.  
"Oh… I'm sorry. Then maybe I shouldn't ask you." Pheona said, looking at the ground uneasily. She didn't want to upset him more.  
_Nonsense. If you have need of me, then I will assist you._ Lir whickered softly, stomping a hoof against the ground.  
"Well, I was wondering if you would do a run for me- the fastest you could go. Can Amalthea run as fast as you?"  
_She runs much faster. You mean… as fast as we can run, to Raza?_ Lir said, his eyes glittering at the challenge.  
"Yeah- but first we need to meet Thalia to find out how to take care of the Kirin egg. After that we'll need to travel as quickly as possible.  
_That sounds good to me. I will tell Amalthea of our plan. I'm sure she will be pleased to come with us for a journey. However, you will need to get some rope._ Lir started trotting away, looking much happier.  
"Why would we need rope?" Pheona said in confusion.  
_Why, otherwise you would fall off, silly magi. You don't know how fast we can run._

"Ugh, how am I supposed to know what to get?" Rynu looked at the shelves in front of him, wondering how much they would need- they couldn't bring too much on the journey, they would have to be fast. He took a coiled ring of rope off a table and held it, looking around for more.  
_Why are you getting rope?_ Medusa hissed against his cheek, looking at the shelves as well.  
"Pheona told me to for some reason. She said Lir mentioned we would need it." Rynu shrugged, making Medusa slither a bit to stay on top of him.  
_Interesting. You should get equal portions of meat and grains. Enough for four people and myself for at least a week._ Medusa pointed to the food with the double tipped end of her tail.  
"How do you know so much about packing food?" Rynu chuckled in amusement, but grabbed the food she had pointed to. He brought it over to the counter and paid for it, thanking the merchant.  
_After going on enough journeys with you, I have learned the proper rationing you usually get. I simply made it enough for four of you._ Medusa hissed.  
"Smart little basilisk. Alright, hopefully Keisin will be able to find Thalia, and we'll get going soon." Rynu took the pack of food, walking out of the shop to go meet Pheona and Marina.

Keisin looked around the crowd with frustration. It would help if he knew what this woman looked like- all Pheona had told him was 'look for a brunette with green eyes and an autumn kirin'. He glanced around the city, looking generally lost as he searched for any signs of a kirin or a woman walking with it. She had to be here somewhere…  
"Are you looking for someone?" Someone tapped Keisin on the shoulder from behind, making him yell in surprise and turn around, glowing with golden magic for a minute before he sighed in relief. It was just a woman, probably wondering why he was standing in the middle of the street.  
"Yeah- I'm looking for someone named Thalia." Keisin said, glancing around again. He looked down at the woman, noticing that she had brown hair and green eyes, and an amused grin.  
"Wait- are you Thalia?" Keisin asked her uneasily. He wasn't used to looking for magi yet- standing among a group of people who would be so hostile to sorcerers made him nervous.  
"Yep, my name's Thalia. Who are you, though, and how do you know me?" Thalia tilted her head curiously. Keisin watched as an autumn kirin trotted up behind her, chewing on a particularly green sprig of grass.  
"There you are, Autumn. Find a yummy leaf, did you?" Thalia chuckled as the kirin chewed on the leaf happily before glancing with Keisin with interest.  
"Pheona sent me to look for you- she needs to ask you how to raise a kirin- she doesn't know how, and she knew you would."  
"Oh, she has a kirin now?" Thalia clapped her hands together in excitement. "No problem- I'll tell her what I know."  
"Well, follow me, then. She's waiting over by Conintor's stables." Keisin said, waving for Thalia to follow him. She watched him for a minute, noticing his strange robe- what kind of magi was he?

"Found her!" Keisin said to Pheona as they walked up to the small group waiting outside Conintor's stables.  
"Oh thank Gods." Pheona sighed in relief, walking forward and shaking Thalia's hand in greeting. "Thank you for meeting with me, Thalia- I have no idea how to raise a kirin."  
"No problem. What with all your unicorns, I figured a kirin would throw you for a loop. What did you need to know?" Thalia said, looking over at Marina and Rynu curiously.  
Keisin walked over to Rynu as the women talked about kirins, Pheona listening intently to everything Thalia said. "This place makes me nervous." He muttered, glancing at the magi that filled the streets.  
"Why? Synara didn't make you nervous before." Rynu glanced over at him with raised eyebrows.  
"There weren't this many magi in the streets before- there's way too many people." Keisin said, trying to look casual.  
"Oh please- no one's going to attack you." Rynu rolled his eyes. "You're way too paranoid."  
"Well you'd be paranoid too if most magi thought you were some evil bastard who wanted to take over the world."  
Rynu sighed. "True, but this is Synara. It's not like it's Voltar or anything."  
Keisin glanced over at him, having a bad feeling about something.


	61. Chapter 61 Tarnished Innocence

"Alright." Pheona sighed in relief after she had told Centurion all that Thalia had said about Autumn Kirins. "You'll be okay with the egg while I'm gone?"  
"I have hatched hundreds if not thousands of eggs while you have traveled. One more will not be of any harm." Alabast said reassuringly with a smile.  
"Besides, we'll both be looking after this one. Two sets of eyes are always better than one." Centurion nodded, patting Pheona on the shoulder. "Be careful little magi, don't get yourself into too much trouble in those jungles- there are nasty creatures in there, and you can get lost easier there than in Synara."  
"I'll be fine." Pheona chuckled at the centaur's protectiveness. "I have both Lir and Amalthea with me this time- things should be safe."  
Centurion glanced over to the unicorns, who were standing apart from each other. "Lir is still upset about Amalthea leaving- and she is feeling guilty for it. Just let them have their space for a bit." Centurion said quietly, patting Amalthea's shoulder one last time before letting him go.  
She smiled back and waved to her allies before walking back over to the group, looking up at Lir.  
"Ready, big guy?" She smiled up at the unicorn, who whinnied loudly in agreement.  
_Alright- you and Keisin get on, and tie yourselves to my back. Tell Rynu and Marina to do the same with Amalthea- don't tie it around our necks though, only our stomachs._ Lir nodded his head toward his back.  
Pheona nodded uneasily as she climbed onto Lir's back, helping Keisin get up as well.  
"Now's probably not the time to tell you I'm really nervous about this." Keisin muttered, looking down at the height from the ground as he sat on the massive unicorn's back.  
"We'll be fine. I think. I've never done a run at top speed before." Pheona said, taking the rope out of her satchel and tying it around her waist, wrapping it around a few times. She handed it to Keisin, who tied it around himself as well, handing it down to Rynu who wrapped it around Lir's stomach before handing it back to Pheona. She tied it back to the original knot, pulling it to test the tension and sighed nervously.  
_You will be fine. Even if you do fall off I will come back for you._ Lir assured her, prancing in place a moment to get a feel for the rope and snorted in satisfaction. He waited for Rynu and Marina to get tied to Amalthea before trotting down the path toward the edge of the forest, heading east.  
"Ready?" Pheona called back to Rynu and Marina, who both nodded.  
"Hold on to me. I have a feeling this will be very very fast." Rynu said, glancing over his shoulder at Marina. She nodded, wrapping her arms around his chest and hid her face against his back as she blushed slightly.  
"Lir says to lean low- especially on Amalthea." Pheona called back from Lir as they trotted forward on the path, gradually building speed slowly.  
Rynu nodded and leaned low against Amalthea's neck as she started galloping after Lir, her speed slightly faster so that they were running side by side down the path.  
_Alright, hang on._ Lir said to Pheona before whickering happily and bursting into his full speed, Amalthea close behind.  
Pheona grunted from the effort of holding onto Lir's neck, her arms wrapped around him as Keisin held onto her waist. They were going impossibly fast- faster than anything she had ever experienced. She watched in shock as Synara passed by as they ran down the road toward Raza- usually it took them half a day to travel to Synara at a normal trot- it had only taken them minutes to get there at this pace!  
_I told you we were fast._ Lir said in amusement to Pheona as they raced down the path toward Raza, their hooves bringing up sparks behind them as they struck the ground at such a fast run.

Lir huffed for breath a few hours later, his short white fur glistening with sweat as he continued to run.  
"If you want to take a break you can- Amalthea's getting tired too." Pheona shouted against the wind, surprised to see either unicorn this exhausted.  
_I will be fine. We should run until sunset._ He said, jumping over debri in the road, making Pheona grunt from the hard landing.  
"Are we taking a break soon?" Keisin yelled to Pheona as the wind rushed past them, his hair flying around his face.  
"No- he wants to go until sunset." Pheona yelled back, looking over at Amalthea as she carried Rynu and Marina. They were both looking just as concerned for Amalthea- she was breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring from the effort of taking in enough breath to keep going.  
"Hey- what is that?" Keisin pointed forward in the path toward a small figure in the distance, which was quickly getting closer.  
"I don't know- it looks like a creature of some sort." Pheona squinted her eyes against the wind to see better when they got close enough. "It's a kuras tiger! What's that doing out here?" Pheona looked back at Keisin in confusion, who shrugged.  
The tiger let out a loud roar as it approached them, starting to run toward them with bared fangs. Lir let out a cry of surprise as it jumped toward him, its claws unleashed as it pounced. Lir skidded to a stop and lowered his head in time to avoid the claws raking down his neck, but could not move fast enough to avoid the tiger digging its claws into his flank.  
Keisin yelled out in pain as the tiger caught him on the leg as well, burying his face in Pheona's back as he grimaced in pain.  
"Oh Gods- what is it doing?" Pheona yelled in horror as Lir skidded to a stop, deep furrows digging into the dirt road from the sudden stop. Li panted in pain, his back leg lifted as he turned around to face the tiger.  
_Quickly- untie yourselves! I cannot move as quickly with both of you on._ Lir said in panic, looking at the tiger's red eyes in confusion- they were glowing with some sort of magic. The tiger obviously wasn't acting like itself- someone was controlling it.  
Pheona started untying the knot at her waist, looking back as Keisin sagged against her. She looked back at him in concern, looking down at his leg to see blood dripping to the ground from his foot. A rush of panic went through her as the tiger let out a low growl, turning its attention to Amalthea. It started running toward her as the mare whinnied in fear, backing up with wide eyes. Lir let out a terrible cry of anger, running over to the tiger and kicking it with one of his large golden hooves to stop it from attacking Amalthea. The force sent the tiger flying a few feet, a screech of pain telling that the blow had met its mark. Phoena managed to untie herself from Lir, holding onto Keisin as he fell against her, his face pale. She let them fall to the ground, grunting in pain as she let Keisin fall on top of her to cushion the blow. Lir turned as the tiger stood, shaking its head from the injury it had suffered. It looked up at Lir, the armor across its body rippling and spiking in its anger. Pheona let out a loud cry of horror as the tiger started running toward the injured unicorn, who was in no shape to move out of the way anymore. She couldn't help but watch with wide eyes as the tiger leaped toward Lir, letting out a loud roar of anger as it unfurled its claws toward the stallion. She closed her eyes in terror, unable to watch the final blow to her beloved companion. Instead she heard a loud keening noise, and a loud thump to the ground. She opened her eyes and looked up to see Lir staring down at the dead tiger, his golden eyes wide as he looked at it. Amalthea stood beside it, blood dripping down her purple horn, running down her face. Rynu stood behind her, the rope that had been holding them cut with Rynu's knife as he held it, watching the scene with shock.  
Amalthea looked down at the corpse in front of her, her legs shaking in horror at what she'd done. Lir walked over to her, limping as he walked and set his head against her neck in affection, trying to comfort her.  
"Keisin-" Pheona looked up at Keisin, who was breathing heavily against her shoulder. She looked down at his leg, flinching at the sight of the open wound and the blood running onto her robes from his leg. "Stay awake, okay? Stay with me." She said desperately, sitting him up and looking at the wound. It wasn't deep, thank Gods, but it was long and jagged. It ran all the way from his thigh to midway of his shin. She sat him up so he leaned against her, looking down at him in concern as he groaned softly.  
"Marina!" Pheona looked up to her friend, her eyes wide in terror- he was loosing far too much blood. "Do you know healing magic?"  
Marina ran over, looking down at Keisin's leg with wide eyes. "Some… but I can't heal all of that in one try." She said hesitantly, leaning down beside him and putting her hands above his leg. She concentrated for a bit, Keisin tensing from the healing process- which hurt as much as getting injured. Pheona gripped his hand as he gritted his teeth in pain, writhing against her. When Marina stopped, her forehead dripping with sweat from the effort, she sighed. "That's all I can do for now. He should stop bleeding, but don't let him move for a while."  
"I guess we're stopping here for a while." Pheona said, her voice breaking with emotion.


	62. Chapter 62 Being Human

Lir comforted Amalthea as she stared at the tiger in front of her with wide eyes.  
_What have I done?_ She whispered in horror.  
_You did what had to be done. He would have killed me. Perhaps you are not the only one who needs protection after all._ Lir said in amusement, looking at his mate in a new way.  
_I have destroyed the balance. I've committed an atrocity! Amalthea shook her head in disbelief.  
Be calm, love. We may fix this, if we work together. You know we can._ Lir looked at her, his eyes determined.  
_You can't- not while you're wounded._ Amalthea looked at his rear leg as he held it up, Lir's breath heavy with pain.  
_I will be fine. You should not suffer when you do not need to- but we must hurry if we are going to do it. I wish to ask the creature who sent it._  
Amalthea looked down at the tiger and nodded, glancing back at Lir in concern. _If you are sure._  
Lir nodded and walked to the other side of the tiger, looking at Amalthea as she lowered her horn in preparation for the spell.  
_I have not used so much magic in a long time. _Lir said in amusement before setting the tip of his horn against the tiger's back, Amalthea doing the same against the cat's forehead.

Pheona held Keisin as he muttered in his sleep, not looking in as much pain as before, but still unconscious. She looked up as a bright light shone between the two unicorns, flaring suddenly in a blinding flash. Pheona flinched from the bright light, wrapping her arms around Keisin protectively and looked up when it faded. The tiger raised its head to look at the unicorns in confusion, letting out a low growl. Lir and Amalthea backed away from the creature as it stood, looking at its side where Amalthea's horn had pierced it skin. The wound was gone.  
Pheona stared in shock at the reanimated tiger- it didn't seem hostile anymore, but instead lively and very confused. It seemed to be talking with the unicorns, looking back and forth from Lir to Amalthea.  
Keisin muttered as he stirred against her, looking up at her face with a grin.  
"Hey Phe. What happened?" He said, his voice raspy.  
"You got hurt." Pheona said, looking down at him in concern as he leaned against her. "I was worried."  
"I'm flattered." He said, grimacing in pain when he tried to sit up. "Still not healed all the way?""  
"No, and don't move. We're camping here for the night." Pheona said firmly, looking up at Marina. "Is the tiger okay?"  
"Tiger?" Keisin looked up at her. "Why are you worried about it?"  
"It doesn't seem hostile anymore." Pheona pointed toward the tiger, which was shaking its head in denial. "Lir and Amalthea… brought it back."  
Keisin stared at the unicorns for a minute. "Gods, no wonder my magic got sapped out by that unicorn. That's a lot of magic stored in those two."  
Pheona looked up as Amalthea whinnied loudly in concern, a loud thump sounding, followed by a bright light. Pheona and Keisin looked over in that direction as Amalthea stared at the human on the ground in front of her, her purple eyes wide with shock. Rynu ran over to them, looking down at Lir on the ground, for some reason in his human form.  
"Did you change him again?" Rynu yelled over to Keisin.  
"No- I didn't do anything." Keisin shook his head, wondering why the unicorn had changed suddenly.  
Lir sat up slowly, groaning as he held his head. He tensed in shock and looked down at his hand, letting out a deep sigh of exasperation.  
"What happened?" He looked down at himself. "Why am I human again?" Lir asked, then froze and looked up at Amalthea with wide eyes.  
She stared back at him, her head tilted in wonder at the sight of her mate as a human.  
"Ah, I didn't mean to change- really!" He raised his hands defensively, looking at her in worry.  
She tilted her head, suddenly looking sad. She couldn't talk to him anymore. She whickered softly and pointed to his leg with her horn, noticing it was completely healed somehow.  
"Lir… please put on some clothes or something." Pheona said, her eyes closed as she looked over at him. Amalthea looked at Lir in amusement as he sighed in dismay. "Yeah, I have to wear clothes. I hate clothes." Lir said, looking around. "Who wants to give me clothes?"  
Rynu rolled his eyes and took off his outer black tunic and threw it to Lir. "Don't tear it or anything." He growled.  
"Here- reach into my pack and get me the pants in there." Keisin said, pointing to the pack that was lying next to the rope Pheona had untied them from. Marina walked over and took out the pants, handing them to Rynu who in turn threw them over to Lir.  
"So now what?" Rynu looked over at Lir uneasily. "You and Keisin can't just walk to Raza, and we're only halfway there."  
"We'll find a way there." Pheona said uneasily, looking down at Keisin. "It's not like we're going anywhere tonight anyway. Not when Keisin is hurt like this."  
Lir looked up at Amalthea, running a hand through his long metallic golden hair. "This is really awkward." He said uneasily.  
Amalthea nodded, murring softly as she leaned down to nudge his shoulder with her snout. He smiled and set a hand against her neck, blinking in surprise at how soft her fur was.  
"Someone get some wood and I'll make a fire." Pheona said, looking over at Lir. "You okay, big guy?"  
"Yeah. Just… wondering why I'm human again." Lir said, standing and waving his arms around until he got his balance. "At least I can walk easier this time."  
"At least my leg doesn't hurt as much." Keisin sighed in relief. "I can't heal it- I learned a long time ago that I can't concentrate well enough to do runes when I'm in pain like this. You've seen what happens if I make even a tiny mistake." He sighed.  
"Yeah- get some rest tonight, I'll stay next to you if you need anything. Don't try to get up on your own." Pheona said.  
Keisin looked up at her and smiled warmly. "You know I love you, right?"  
Pheona blushed and nodded, smiling sweetly. "I know.  
"What are we going to do with that tiger?" Keisin nodded his head over to the tiger, who was looking at Lir in confusion, but still talking with Amalthea.  
"I don't know. I think someone might have been controlling it somehow." She said, glancing over at it.  
"Well, we'll deal with it later." Keisin said, leaning back against her shoulder, sighing in relief.  
Pheona looked up as Rynu set up some tinder in front of her, lining rocks in a circle and setting the tinder in the middle. Pheona snapped her fingers and a small flame ignited the timbers as Rynu stood. He looked down at Keisin sleeping against her shoulder and smiled softly, his green eyes sad despite his grin. She watched him as he walked away, wondering what why he was sad.


	63. Chapter 63 Grace

Lir leaned back against Amalthea, setting his cheek against her dark blue fur.  
"I'm sorry this happened." Lir said softly.  
Amalthea murred warmly and set her snout against Lir's arm. She looked at him with deep blue eyes, trying to convey what she was thinking even though she couldn't talk to him.  
"This is so frustrating- I don't know what you're going to say." Lir growled in annoyance, setting his palm against his forehead.  
Amalthea looked over at Pheona and Keisin, letting out a determined snort. She stood up, Lir watching her in confusion as she walked over to them.  
Keisin looked up as Amalthea stood in front of them, wondering how she could communicate what she wanted.  
"I think she needs something." Keisin looked up at Pheona.  
"Obviously." Pheona chuckled, then looked up at Amalthea. "I'm sorry Lir is human- I know you two can't talk like that."  
Amalthea pointed her snout to Lir, then pointed to Keisin, whinnying softly.  
"I don't get it- what does she want?" Keisin looked at Pheona in confusion, who shrugged as well.  
Amalthea snorted and stomped a purple hoof to the ground, looking annoyed. She trotted over to Lir, poking her horn against his shoulder so that he jumped in pain, glaring at her. She then walked over to Keisin and pointed to the amulet hanging from his neck.  
"I think she wants you to turn her human." Pheona said in shock, her eyes widening.  
"What?" Lir yelled, standing quickly enough that he wobbled slightly. "Amie, sweetie, you don't have to do that- I'm fine, really."  
Amalthea looked over at him and snorted indignantly before looking down at Keisin with soft eyes.  
"I don't think it would be a good idea to wipe out my magic before going to Raza to fight Demetre." Keisin said hesitantly.  
"Actually, she doesn't have much magic left. Neither do I – we used it all to bring the tiger back." Lir pointed to the tiger who was watching them curiously, its tail swishing idly behind it.  
"Well, it might work then." Keisin shrugged. "I don't want to annoy Lir, though."  
Lir looked at his mate, wondering if she even knew what it meant to be human- to be able to feel yourself dying like a human did could drive her mad. She was so sensitive compared to him, but she had shown when she killed the tiger that she was capable of strength too. Perhaps he was being too protective of her.  
Amalthea turned to Lir, murring reassuringly to him. He understood- being apart from him when he was so near was even worse than being apart when he was on a journey far away. She wanted to be able to speak with her mate, even if that meant being stuck as a human.  
"Alright." Lir sighed in dismay. "I don't know if she'll like it any, but I suppose it's the only choice now so that we can talk."  
"Keisin could always turn her back later." Rynu shrugged, sitting next to Marina on the other side of the fire.  
Pheona smiled softly and looked up at Amalthea."You'll need a dress of some sort. I don't really have anything that looks good on you, though."  
"I can fix that." Keisin said. "Just get out the dress. It doesn't take much magic at all."  
Pheona looked down at him and remembered when he could change the colors of cloth- like he had done with the quilt in his room back at Avalon. "Good idea." She took out the dress from her pack- a simple red dress with golden embroidery around the collar in long flowing silk. Hopefully Amalthea would be able to fit in it.  
Keisin took the dress and looked up at Amalthea thoughtfully. Finally he nodded in satisfaction and held a hand over the cloth, letting the golden glow of his magic surround the dress as it faded to the same deep blue as Amalthea's fur, the embroidery fading to a light silver.  
"Oh, perfect." Pheona smiled. Amalthea looked at the dress curiously, wondering how she was supposed to wear it.  
"Alright, now for the hard part." Keisin sighed, holding up his hands and closing his eyes to concentrate. He let his magic flow out of his hands, the tendrils of golden glow surrounding around Amalthea as she looked at them in interest. Keisin's magic started pouring out of his hands with more force, surrounding the dark unicorn in its golden glow so that only her silhouette was visible. Lir watched intently as the silhouette lost its shape among the golden glow, shrinking in size and width. Keisin finally let his magic fade with a satisfied sigh, leaning back against Pheona when he felt dizzy for a moment.  
As the gold glow faded a woman sat on the ground, blinking in confusion. Her skin was a deep mocha brown, long purple hair flowing down her back in long sparkling waves. She had deep blue eyes as she looked at herself in interest, holding a slender hand in front of her face to examine it. Pheona threw the dress over to Amalthea, who looked at it in confusion. Pheona explained how to put it on, smiling when Amalthea looked up at her in question if she had put it on right.  
"Oh, Amie…" Lir stared at her with wide eyes. "You're HOT." He grinned happily. He walked over to her, still smiling.  
Amalthea blushed, a shy smile coming over her face. "This does feel strange, though." She said, her soft voice making her eyes widen in surprise.  
Pheona smiled happily to her friend- she was beautiful. She still appeared to be the opposite of Lir though. Instead of his hard planes of muscle she had soft feminine curls. Instead of the sharp masculine features Lir had, Amalthea's were soft and pleasant.  
Amalthea tried to stand, Lir catching her when she fell. She looked up at him with a blush and he smiled warmly down at her.  
"There. Everyone's happy now." Keisin said in relief, sounding weary.  
"Maybe you should get some sleep." Pheona said, looking over at the two unicorns as they started laughing happily when Amalthea finally managed to stand on her long slender human legs.  
"Mmm, probably." Keisin said, leaning back against her. "We'll figure out how to keep going to Raza tomorrow."  
Pheona nodded, running a hand through his golden hair as he fell asleep, making him smile happily, a soft hum coming from him.  
"Thank you for turning Amalthea human. I don't like to see her sad." Pheona said softly so the unicorns wouldn't hear as Lir taught Amalthea how to walk properly.  
"No problem, babe. That's what we sorcerers are here for- to make people's lives better." He muttered sleepily, closing his eyes.  
Pheona smiled, slowly lowering him down to the ground as he started snoring softly so she could lie down as well.  
"We'll figure something out." Rynu said reassuringly to Pheona from across the fire. "There must be some way to get us all to Raza quickly."  
Pheona nodded, lying down with her back to Keisin. She knew there was, she just couldn't think of one. There must be a way to stop Demetre from getting to his tower- if they didn't… well she didn't want to think about that possibility.  
Marina moved a ways from Rynu and laid down as well, flipping her hand so that moisture from the air around the fire doused the flames with a sharp hiss. Rynu looked over at her in surprise- he would never be as good at magic as any of the others. It was his own fault, though. He frowned unhappily and laid down on the cold grass, trying not to think about his past mistakes.


	64. Chapter 64 Stranger in the Sunlight

Keisin woke with a startle in the morning, looking around to see a nearby bush rustling with movement. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously and looked down at Pheona, who was still asleep beside him, turned away from him. He looked down at her for a minute and smiled softly at her peaceful face, then jumped when he heard another rustle from the bushes. He watched the large bush, noticing a flash of green and red from within the leaves. He stood, groaning in pain as he stood on his legs, which still had long scratches along his shins. He slowly made his way toward the bush, looking over it in interest. Just as he caught a glimpse of blue from behind the leaves a loud screech sounded overhead, the sunrise making it difficult to make out the large gryphon circling overhead before it descended. He backed up in surprise as it landed beside him, a woman sliding down the side of the gryphon to the ground.  
"What are you guys doing all the way out here?" April flipped back the hood of her cloak, looking at Keisin in surprise.  
"We're trying to catch Demetre- but we're stuck." He said, his teeth grinding in pain as his legs started aching again. He finally let out a long sigh of frustration an sat on the ground, holding his shins in relief. April looked down at him in surprise and kneeled next to him, noticing his pain. She rummaged through the pouch tied to her belt, pulling out a handful of herbs.  
"W-what are you doing?" Keisin said in surprise when she quickly raised up the bottom of his pants to reveal his wounded shin.  
"Oh stop being such a baby. I'm healing you." April glanced up at him and spread the herbs against the wounds, making Keisin flinch at first and then sigh with relief when it didn't hurt anymore. She finished the magic and leaned back with a satisfied sigh when the wound was no longer visible on Keisin's shin except for two long faint scars.  
"Thank you." He said, looking down at his leg with wide eyes. "You're good at healing."  
"Yep- it's why I'm out here. I need to get more herbs." April said, wiping her hands from the residue of the herbs and stood up.  
"Is that April?" Pheona said in surprise as she sat up and looked over to them.  
"Are you guys really stuck? Whatever happened to Lir?" April said, smiling to Pheona in greeting as she walked over.  
"Ah… yeah. He and Amalthea are here." Pheona said and shook her head in dismay. "That's partially the problem."  
April looked over Pheona's shoulders at the four humans still sleeping- Rynu and Marina obviously, but the other two she didn't recognize… but the male had metallic gold hair, and the female had purple…  
"How are they human?" April gasped in shock.  
"Dunno about Lir, but I changed Amalthea." Keisin said, stretching his leg.  
"Oh good, you healed him- thank you." Pheona said in relief. "He got hurt pretty badly by that kuras tiger."  
"Kuras tiger?" April said, her eyes widening in interest.  
Pheona looked around and pointed to the white tiger, which was sleeping on the grass, not knowing where else to go. It raised its head at the mention of it, looking at them with bright yellow eyes.  
Pheona explained what happened, how the tiger had been controlled by someone and ordered to attack them. She decided to leave out that the tiger had been killed by Amalthea.  
"Poor thing." April pouted sadly. A black tienko popped its head out of the satchel at her waist, putting a paw against her arm.  
"Do you think I could take it back with me? I'd hate to see such a wonderful tiger wander alone confused. It probably doesn't even know where it is."  
"Sure- he would probably like that. He's been moping around since he woke up yesterday." Pheona glanced over at the tiger, who let out a low growl. He walked over, the metal plates along his back clinking with each step until he stood in front of April, looking up at her.  
April held her hand out for the tiger to decide whether or not to touch her. He set his forehead against his palm, letting out a low murr of content.  
"Well he seems friendly enough." Pheona chuckled, glad the tiger had somewhere to go.  
"He does- how could anyone want to harm such a wonderful big guy?" April pet the tiger behind one of his ears. "Do you know what you'll do after this?" April looked at Pheona.  
"I don't know- but we have to get to Raza somehow. If we don't get there before Demetre does…" Pheona pressed her lips together uneasily. She knew he would be impossible to stop once he got there. From Rynu's reaction of the news, they had to get there.  
"Well, unfortunately there's not really any cities around here. You're kind of in the middle of nowhere." April looked around at the trees, the occasional fern littering the forest floor. "Though Raza isn't too far from here. You could try walking." She shrugged.  
"That's a long walk." Pheona sighed with dismay- walking was too slow… they would have to figure something else out."  
"Well, good luck either way. I'm sorry I can't be more help." April said uneasily. She turned to the kuras- "Think you can keep up with a flying gryphon?"  
The tiger let out an indignant huff and nodded.  
"Good- well, I have to get going- I'm getting these herbs and bringing them back to Herbal Grace. I hope you make it in time- and have a safe journey." April climbed back onto the gryphon's back. She glanced back at them before the gryphon started running forward, screeching loudly before spreading its wings and taking off into the air, the kuras running behind them.  
"I still don't know what we're going to do." Pheona said uneasily, looking back at Lir and Amalthea.  
"We'll figure something out eventually. For now, let's just start walking and try to make our way there." Keisin said reassuringly. He stood up, shaking his leg out happily. It was back to normal.  
"Alright." Pheona sighed, not entirely convinced by Keisin's confidence.


	65. Chapter 65 Jungle Guardian

Pheona looked over at Keisin as he panted for breath under his fur-lined robe, his face red from heat as they walked along a path that wound though a part of the jungle.  
"Why don't you take that robe off? It must be really warm." Pheona said, wondering if he was alright.  
Keisin glanced over to her and shook his head. "I'm not leaving it out of my sight. This robe means a lot to me- I don't want to lose it."  
"You're going to make yourself sick." Pheona frowned.  
Keisin rolled his eyes and waved a hand, a cold breeze rushing past him, making him sigh in relief.  
"I wouldn't waste too much magic here." Rynu said, looking around uneasily. "If Demetre can control that tiger, who knows what else he has under his curse?"  
Pheona bit her lip nervously as she looked around. What a pleasant thought- anything and everything around them could attack them. No wonder Rynu was so paranoid looking.  
"Don't worry so much- we can tell if something's bad or not." Lir said behind them, pointing to Amalthea and himself.  
_Who walks through our forest?_ A light voice said from the trees. Pheona looked up in surprise at the voice, trying to find who it belonged to.  
"Um… we're looking for someone." She said in reply, seeing no one in sight. She glanced over to Lir and Amalthea to see if they knew what it was, but the unicorns just shrugged in confusion.  
_Searching, searching. Magi are always searching for something. Looking for eggs, looking for nagas, looking for power... Do you not realize that we are here?_  
Rynu looked around warily, unsheathing the dagger at his back quietly.  
_Do not think your petty threats are met with fear. Your blades and claws cannot harm us._  
"Okay, this is getting annoying." Rynu growled, lowering his dagger. "Who are you?" He shouted up at the trees.  
_We are the trees and the wind- the vines and the earth._ A creature dropped down from the trees in front of them, making them all jump in surprise. Her skin was a deep forest green with patches of lighter green across her scales, long curving black horns sprouting from her forehead. Two large bat-like wings folded across her back like a cape.  
"My name is Sivani. I have never seen magi before." She tilted her head curiously, her green eyes wide with wonder.  
"What are you?" Rynu looked at her, noticing that she stood on animal-like legs, her feet much like a dragons with curved black claws.  
"I am a gargoyle, of course." The woman scoffed. "Have you not heard of us?"  
"Only in books." Keisin said, watching the woman with wide eyes.  
"Books…" Sivani looked at him as she thought. "Those are the strange bunches of leaves you humans carry."  
"Kind of." Keisin muttered.  
"We're looking for a sorcerer. One who uses dark magic." Pheona said, hoping the gargoyle knew where he was.  
"Ah, the cursed one. Yes, he came through here a while ago. We have learned to stay clear of him since he took Hal." The woman said bitterly. "What do you need of him?"  
"We need to kill him." Rynu said simply.  
The gargoyle looked at him with wide eyes, the long pointed ears on her head lowering suspiciously. "He is of Great Magic. Even the forest cowers before him. How can you hope of defeating him?"  
Keisin cleared his throat, pointing to the amulet hanging from his neck. "I'm a sorcerer too."  
The gargoyle laughed. "You have no Great Magic in you, cold one. Only tricks and spells."  
Keisin shifted uneasily, not knowing whether or not to be offended.  
"Sivani of the Raza tribe, we seek our assistance." Lir said from behind Keisin and Pheona. He and Amalthea moved so that they could be seen.  
"You know of our ways, human?" Sivani said, tilting her head again curiously.  
"I am no human. I am Lir- Light Guardian of Avalon forest- this is my mate, Amalthea." Lir motioned to Amalthea beside him, who nodded politely.  
"What trickery is this? Unicorns cannot be human- do not spit lies at me and tell me it is nectar. I see with my own eyes you are no unicorns."  
Lir frowned, letting out a long sigh. "I really don't want to summon the Guardian. He's usually pretty grumpy with me."  
"Do not speak of our Guardian with such distaste!" Sivani hissed, baring fangs.  
"Just do it, Lir." Amalthea sighed. "I'm here, so maybe he won't be so angry."  
Lir let out another sigh, raising his hands and chanted  
_I call upon the creature of earth  
to settle a matter most urgent  
He who bound the broken bonds  
Come to mend again.  
_Lir lowered his hands as a loud roar sounded from the forest behind them, making Sivani jump in shock, looking in that direction. A massive manticore walked out from the brush, looking at the group in front of him with confusion.  
_What is the meaning of this calling? Who summoned me?  
_"I did." Lir stepped forward with a grin. "Haven't seen you in a while, huh Falter?"  
The manticore walked over to Lir, looking down at him suspiciously before sniffing him and rearing back in shock.  
_Lir! What are you doing back in these jungles?_ He hissed, his fur standing on end in anger.  
"I told you he'd be mad at me." Lir sighed in dismay. "He's a sore loser."  
The manticore glared at him before looking to Amalthea. _And who are you?_  
"I am Amalthea, Lir's mate. It is a pleasure to meet you, Raza Guardian." Amalthea bowed politely.  
The manticore looked at her in pleasant surprise, growling in laughter. _I am glad Lir at least found a decent mate. Keep an eye on that stallion of yours, mare._  
"I know." Amalthea grinned to Lir, who glared at the manticore.  
"F-Falter, are these two really unicorns?" Sivani pointed to Lir and Amalthea in disbelief.  
_Yes, they are indeed. Though why they have taken human form I have no idea. Please aid them however you can- they are of good intentions._ The manticore glanced at Lir _Well, most of them, anyway._  
"Thank you, Falter." Amalthea smiled gratefully. The manticore grumbled something and walked back into the forest with a low growl.  
"Well…" Sivani watched Falter walk back into the jungle with wide, shocked eyes. "I suppose you should probably follow me, then. I'll see what I can do to help you in your journey." She started walking into the forest, looking back to make sure they were following.


	66. Chapter 66 Ryoho

They followed Sivani through the forest, looking around at the trees on either side of the path as they grew thicker and taller. It was obvious that they were starting to go into the deep of the jungle.  
"So do you know where other humans are around here?" Pheona asked uneasily, hoping that the gargoyles would know more about Demetre's whereabouts.  
"Oh yes, but we are not allowed to go there. Great evil lives there-they have stolen our chief's son." Sivani said simply.  
"Stolen?" Keisin whispered uneasily, looking to Pheona, who shrugged in confusion.  
"Does he have a serpent mark on his arm?" Rynu asked, walking behind Pheona and Keisin.  
Sivani looked over her shoulder at him uneasily. "Yes, why?"  
Rynu turned grim, his green eyes darkening. "He's being controlled."  
Sivani stopped walking for a moment and looked back at Rynu. "How do you know of these things?"  
Rynu sighed and lifted the sleeve of his black shirt, revealing the tattoo. He was getting tired of showing it to people. "I used to be controlled as well- but a kirin solved that problem."  
Sivani looked at him skeptically for a moment before continuing through the brush without another word.  
She moved a branch out of the way, revealing a sprawling city in a clearing in the jungle. Houses lined the trees, green-skinned gargoyles gliding between the branches and walking on the ground beneath the trees. Sivani led them through the city, the gargoyles staring at the humans with wide eyes as they passed by.  
"Why are they all staring at us?" Rynu said nervously, looking around at the gargoyles as they walked.  
"Well, Sivani said we were the first humans she had seen- maybe we're the first human any of them have seen too." Marina answered, trying to ignore the looks as well.  
"Aye, but our chief has had dealings with your kind before. I will bring you to him." Sivani said, walking toward the only building that was on the ground in the middle of the city. She opened the wooden door and allowed the humans inside first before following them in and closing the door behind her.  
A bright fire burned in a hearth at the far side of the wooden hut, a blue-skinned gargoyle standing in front of it with his massive wings folded around his shoulders. He looked behind him at the group as they walked in and turned around with a confused expression.  
"Greetings chief Tiko, these humans seek assistance to go to the place of evil toward the north. Falter requests that we help them." Sivani said, bowing deeply to the larger gargoyle.  
Tiko looked at the humans in interest. "Falter requested we help you? Why would a spirit of a forest want to help humans?"  
"We are trying to defeat whatever evil is in the north." Lir said, looking toward the chief.  
"Ah, I see. Well, I wish you luck. The sorcerer has captured my son and held him hostage. What sort of assistance will you need?"  
"We need some way to get there." Keisin said uneasily- he didn't know how to act around creatures that weren't human or creature.  
"Ah, that will be no problem. We will request a favor of Ryoho." Tiko smiled in relief.  
"Ryoho?" Pheona said in confusion.  
"Yes- he is out back." Tiko walked through the humans and out the door, waving a hand behind him to motion for them to follow.  
Tiko led him around the hut through a large gathering of fruit trees to a large clearing.  
Pheona blinked in confusion at the orange scales rumbling against the ground around the clearing, the body never seeming to stop. It finally ended in a large dragon head, which swiveled to look at them with large black eyes.  
Keisin froze beside Pheona at the sight of the valcerian dragon, watching as it moved its body behind it to coil in on itself and looked down at them with a tilted head.  
_And what does this strange group of humans and unicorns want with this dragon?_ Ryoho asked with a deep rumbling voice.  
"We ask that we have passage to the tower to the north, please." Lir said, bowing with respect to the dragon.  
_Ah, Lir._ The dragon smiled in amusement, revealing rows of fangs. _Does Falter know you are here?  
_"Ah, yes. He is not too happy to see me."  
_Can't imagine why._ Ryoho snickered. _Very well- I will fly your group to the north first thing tomorrow morning. The humans traveling with you look like they need the rest._  
"I would like to sit for a while." Rynu muttered, shifting his aching feet against the ground uneasily.  
_Very well- I will see you all first thing in the morning. We will head to the north and be there by midday.  
_"Thank you." Pheona smiled to the dragon, who nodded.

Rynu unwound Medusa from his shoulders, setting her on the wooden floor of the treehouse. He didn't like being this high up, but it was for the best in this case- apparently lots of dangerous creatures roamed the ground at night.  
"Why do you look so nervous?" Marina asked, setting down her satchel and taking a black tienko out of the pack. The cat stretched lazily and laid against her leg with a low mrowl.  
"I've been to the tower before. I don't have fond memories of the place." Rynu said, looking down at Medusa as she looked up at him in concern.  
_Do not dwell on those memories. They are behind you._ The basilisk said before setting her head back down.  
Rynu sighed and nodded, looking over to Marina. "I was kept as a prisoner there for a couple of years. It's where most of my scars are from." Rynu looked down at the few scars that weren't covered by his black shirt.  
Marina looked over at him with wide eyes. "And you're willing to go back there?"  
"If it means stopping Demetre once and for all, yes. I don't want him doing to others what he did to me. He almost ruined my life." Rynu said uneasily, glancing over at her.  
Marina sighed. "You're right. He has to be stopped. I'm just… worried about you."  
"About me?" Rynu looked up at her in confusion. "Why?"  
"Well, you're always in some sort of battle. Don't you ever just want to stop fighting everyone?"  
Rynu watched Marina for a minute before smiling softly. "I suppose so. There's not really a possibility of that until I get through this though. I have to kill Demetre so he can't control me anymore. Otherwise I'll never be able to be at rest."  
Marina nodded, looking down at the tienko beside her. "I hope you do." She said softly with a smile.  
Rynu looked over at her in surprise and cleared his throat uneasily, looking away. "Me too."  
"Well I suppose it's time to get some rest." Marina sighed and laid down against the wooden planks beneath her, using her arm as a pillow for her head.  
Rynu watched her for a minute before letting out a frustrated sigh and lying down as well. He glanced over at Medusa as the basilisk stared at him through the black cloth that covered her eyes.  
_When will you ever learn?_ Medusa sighed.


	67. Chapter 67 Darkness Rising

Ryoho looked back at the humans as he leaned down so they could climb on.  
"I don't like this." Keisin said stiffly as Pheona pushed him forward. She pushed him against the dragon's side so that he had no choice but to climb up the orange scales.  
"I know you don't, but this is the only choice we have. I thought last night you decided you'd be fine with it!" Pheona grunted as she pushed him up the dragons side as he stared at the scales with wide eyes.  
" Yeah but- it's a dragon!" Keisin protested, sitting on the dragon's back with wide fearful eyes.  
_You have had bad experiences with dragons, hmmm little human?_ Ryoho turned around to look at Keisin with curiosity.  
"Y-yeah." Keisin stammered, staring at the dragon's face and trying not to show how much he was shaking under his robe.  
"You'll be fine. He's a good dragon- not one of those mean mountain dragons."  
_Oh. I can see how he is fearful now. Mountain dragons. So uncouth and barbaric._ Ryoho snorted in disgust and watched as the rest of the humans climbed onto Ryoho's back.  
_Is everyone here?_ Ryoho said, standing as the humans situated themselves better.  
"I think so." Pheona looked back to see Rynu, Marina, Lir and Amalthea behind Keisin.  
_Very well then- we will get going._ Ryoho looked behind his shoulder at the chief as he waved goodbye to the humans and nodded in farewell.  
He ran along the ground, his long orange body slithering against the ferns and trees around them until he suddenly leaped up into the air, slithering through the sky smoothly.  
"Oh this is exciting! I've never ridden another creature before." Amalthea giggled behind Lir, who looked uneasy.  
"I don't like it- it feels… wrong." Lir said, looking down at the dragon with a face of disgust.  
_You just don't like having to rely on others, proud stallion. Just sit back and enjoy the view. The jungle is beautiful this time of year._ Ryoho glanced downwards.  
Pheona leaned over to look off the side of the dragon, seeing trees with lemurs leaping from branch to branch beneath them, flowering trees adding a splash of color against the dark green canopy.  
"Hey Keisin- loo-" She stopped when she sat him gripping onto the back of her robe tightly, burying his face in her shoulder. She sighed and shook her head in dismay, reaching back to pat his shoulder reassuringly.

After hours of flying, a large tower appeared in the distance. Pheona couldn't help but feel nervous at the sight- it was like the air was suddenly fogged with magic, making the dragon beneath her growl low with unease.  
_This is as far as I can go._ The dragon said, flying down toward the ground and landing gently. He leaned down to let the humans slide off his back and turned around to look back at them. _I wish you luck, humans. May your quest be in success, and may you rid the jungle of this evil._ Ryoho looked over at the tower with a low hiss of anger and flew back into the air back toward the gargoyle city.  
Rynu looked over at the tower uneasily. "Alright- we have to do this quickly. If he knows too soon that we're coming he'll try to send people after us."  
Pheona nodded grimly, looking over to Keisin as he put on the brown elbow-length gloves from the pouch at his side.  
"Alright, let's start this then." Keisin said in a low voice before they ran toward the tower.  
Rynu pushed open the door with his shoulder and looked inside the dark room. Shadows cast around the walls of the black décor, books lining the shelves so that no wall was visible against the stone.  
A figure was huddled in the corner, looking up with surprise at the people as they entered.  
Rynu held up a hand to have the others stop and walked forward to look at the man on the ground.  
"Rynu?" A deep voice gasped in shock as the figure stood. "It is you! What the hell are you doing here?"  
Rynu watched as he moved out of the light, revealing a man with bright red hair and a large scar across the right side of his face.  
"Tam!" Rynu yelled in shock, rushing over to him. "Why are you still here? It thought he sent you back to Synara."  
"No. He isn't what he seems, Rynu. You have to get out of here before he gets back- if he finds any of you here-" Tam looked up with wide eyes as a loud rumble sounded from overhead, the walls shaking and flakes of plaster coming off the ceiling above them. "Too late." Tam said bitterly.  
"What is that?" Pheona said nervously as the tower shook.  
"I don't know." Rynu said, looking around the room cautiously. He looked to Tam, who was pale as he looked up toward the ceiling.  
"Tam, get out of here. Head to the east, there's a city there. We'll meet you there later." Rynu looked at the older man, who was staring at him in shock.  
"You've changed quite a bit in the few years since I last saw you, Rynu." Tam smiled softly and nodded. "Alright- I'll meet you there. Oh- and Rynu." Tam walked forward and put a hand on Rynu's shoulder. "Be careful kid. Remember what I taught you."  
Rynu nodded and watched the man glance at the others before running out the door.  
"Who was that?" Pheona asked, watching Tam as he ran to the east, looking back over his shoulder at the top of the tower.  
"He taught me earth magic when I was younger and helped me escape." Rynu said simply and walked forward, unsheathing the dagger from against his back and moved forward carefully toward the door as the others stayed behind him. He held up a hand for them to stop as he moved to the side of the door, listening carefully before quickly kicking in the door and moving inside to see no one there. He sighed in frustration and waved the others over, letting them pass as he looked around.  
Like the other room, there were no windows in this room and the only light came from a small burning torch against the wall. Rynu looked over to a small door on the other side of the room- far too small for a normal door. He watched it uneasily for a minute before opening it and looking inside the smaller room- no one was in it.  
He sighed with relief and stood again, looking over to the closed door on the other side of the room.  
"I have a bad feeling something's going to be on the other side of that door. Everyone get ready." Rynu whispered, walking over to the door and kicking it down again. He ran into the room to let the others follow behind him and was surprised to see a large male gargoyle standing in front of a cage writhing with some sort of creatures.  
The gargoyle turned toward them and let out an angry growl, his fangs bared as his wings unfurled behind him.  
"I think that must be the chief's son." Pheona whispered as the gargoyle turned toward her and let out a snarl, running toward her in attack.


	68. Chapter 68 Isildre

Keisin stepped in front of Pheona in time to take the full brunt of the gargoyle's tackle, sending the sorcerer flying against the far wall with a grunt of pain.  
"Keisin!" Pheona yelled, turning back to the gargoyle with angry red eyes.  
"NO, Pheona." Rynu said quickly, making her freeze as she raised her hands to attack. "If you use fire here, you could burn the tower down- just let me handle this." Rynu crouched behind the gargoyle, watching him carefully as Pheona ran over to see if Keisin was alright.  
"You humans think you are better than me?" The gargoyle said in a deep raspy voice. "You have no idea what you're getting into."  
Rynu looked behind him at the stone wall, noticing a few small vines trying to make their way through the stone. He smiled wryly and raised a hand, the vines curling out from the wall to shoot across the room and wrap around the gargoyle's arms and legs to keep him in place.  
"We won't be able to convince him that we're good. Not when he's being controlled by Demetre like this."  
"Demetre? You really are a fool. You don't even know who you're fighting against!" The gargoyle laughed.  
Rynu glared at him, but couldn't help but be confused. "What do you mean?"  
"Demetre is only a fake name he made up to keep his identity a secret. Have you been here for so long and not known who really controls you?"  
Rynu tightened the vines on the gargoyle's wrists painfully. "Tell me who he is!"  
The gargoyle flinched at the pain and sneered at Rynu. "Isildre- sorcerer of Raza."  
Keisin blanched and looked to Pheona, knowing that was the name on the book from the sorcerer that had burned down Avalon.  
"NO!" Rynu yelled in anger, the vines growing large thorns instantly, biting into the gargoyle as they tightened around his wrists, breaking bones.  
"Rynu- stop!" Marina yelled, making Rynu look up in surprise from his glare at the gargoyle. He loosened his fist, the vines falling to the ground from the gargoyle.  
Pheona stood staring at the gargoyle as he fell to the ground, looking down at his broken wrists in dismay.  
"Let's get going." Rynu said darkly, looking straight forward as he started walking across the room to the next door.  
Pheona bit her lip nervously and ran over to Rynu, hugging him tightly. "Don't worry about it- we'll find a way to get you out of his control. He won't take you too."  
Rynu looked down at Pheona in surprise and sighed, wrapping his arms around his cousin. "Don't worry about me, Phe. I'm just… angry that the man who killed your parents is the one who I trusted all those years ago. If I had known he was really Isildre, none of this would have happened."  
"You couldn't have known. If we kill him, maybe the spell he put on you will be broken." Pheona said, trying to reassure herself as well as Rynu.  
"Probably. Sorcerer magic tends to work like that- kill the sorcerer, and all the spells he still has cast will die with him." Keisin said, not really knowing what else to do in this situation. Pheona and Rynu were so close- he didn't want to ruin their conversation.  
"See? We just have to kill him. Everything will turn out better." Pheona smiled.  
Rynu chuckled at Pheona's optimism. "Easier said than done, Phe- we'll take this one step at a time. First we need to make our way through this tower."

Most of the rooms had been empty- the only remaining things left in the room were more cages filled with writhing creatures.  
"What are these? They're everywhere." Pheona asked, moving closer to the cage.  
"Careful!" Rynu said quickly, pulling her back as fangs lashed out at her. Pheona let out a loud cry of fear at the sight of a hairy yellow spider hissing at her.  
"Those are namista's spiders!" She said in horror, scrambling away from the cage. Keisin caught her as she fell backwards, leaning her against him for support.  
"Why is he keeping these here?" Rynu looked at the cage thoughtfully. "I've never known Deme-uh-Isildre to keep any creatures other than that amarth alagos." He watched the spiders for a minute before shrugging.  
"He's probably at the top of the tower- we're almost there." Rynu said, opening the next door and running up the flight of stairs.  
"Wait for us!" Marina whispered anxiously as the others ran up after him.

Rynu opened the door to see a man in a black cloak facing a window. He crouched warily, ready to attack as Isildre turned around to look at him.  
"Ah, Rynu." The sorcerer smiled as the others ran into the room behind him. "And you brought friends! How lovely."  
Rynu stayed silent, watching the sorcerer closely as he stood in front of Pheona.  
"Well boy, don't be shy- introduce me." Isildre smiled wryly and waved his hand. Rynu flinched as the tattoo against his arm writhed against its confines, the serpent hissing angrily as it slammed against the swirling marks the kirin had added.  
Islidre frowned and tightened his fist so that the serpent moved faster, but Rynu only smiled.  
"You don't have control over me anymore." He said triumphantly.  
Isildre looked at him in amusement for a bit and chuckled. "Indeed, I do not. But no matter." The sorcerer raised his hands, a dark magic crawling out of his hands.  
Keisin moved forward, a bright flash of golden light coming from his palms to keep the black magic back from the others. "I'll hold him off. Someone else try to get him." He whispered to the others before grunting with the effort of holding back so much magic.  
Lir looked back at Amalthea, who nodded and added her own purple magic to Keisin's fighting back the darkness.  
"What is this?" Isildre growled as he fought against the golden and purple glows, looking frustrated as he poured more magic out of his hands. His hair started turning from jet black to ashen as he fought, lines starting to form on his face.  
"Alright, I'm sick of waiting." Lir growled and pointed a finger toward Isildre, not having much magic left from earlier. A bright light formed from the tip of his finger, bursting through the room and shooting through Isildre's shoulder. The sorcerer yelled in pain and broke his concentration, letting the golden and purple magic surround him. He cried out from within the glow as it faded and left Isildre looking older, lines of gray forming in his black hair.  
"You will all pay for this." He growled angrily and held his hands out on either side of him, the black magic from his hands forming around him. His form grew and widened, the top of the tower crumbling away so that stones fell toward the group underneath. Keisin quickly made a shield above them, flinching as stones tumbled against the golden sphere surrounding them.  
"What's going on?" Rynu yelled against the rumbling of the stones falling around them, the floor shifting beneath them.  
_You will all pay!_ A loud roar sounded from overhead as a great black ice dragon appeared where Isildre had stood. It looked down at the group and growled, snapping its great jaws toward Rynu. He yelled as the teeth tore through his shoulder, trying to lift him into the air.  
"Rynu!" Marina yelled, holding onto his waist as he was lifted up. Rynu grunted as the flesh of his shoulder tore, yelling out a scream of pain as he fell back to the ground on top of Marina. She scrambled out from underneath him, holding her hands above his shoulder, her palms glowing a cyan as she started healing his wound.  
"We have to get out of here!" Keisin yelled as the dragon let out a loud angry roar and leapt off the building, the rest of the roof of the tower crumbling beneath his claws.


	69. Chapter 69 Death

Rynu grabbed Marina's forearm as she tried to heal him the best she could, blood dripping down his ripped shoulder. "Get up- go!" He said through gritted teeth.  
"But you're hurt!" She yelled back over the rumbling of the tower. She shouted in surprise as a rock fell to the ground nearby, shattering.  
"You've healed me enough- we need to get going." Rynu insisted, standing and dragging her by the forearm after the others as they started running down the tower.  
Amalthea held a shield over them as they ran down the stairs of the tower, the rocks from the roof crumbling overhead. She flinched every time a large stone hit the purple glow above them, sweat starting to pour down her dark skin from the effort of keeping the shield up.  
They stopped in a room, looking around as a loud hissing noise sounded from overhead.  
"What's that?" Pheona asked nervously, not liking the thought of what that sound might be coming from.  
"I have no idea." Keisin said uneasily as the rest of the group stopped to look around for the source of the noise.  
Rynu looked back at the stairs they had just come from to see knee-high spiderlings crawling toward them, fangs clacking together angrily as they hissed.  
"Run! RUN!" He yelled, pushing the rest of them forward as the spiders leaped against Amalthea's shield.  
They fled down the stairs with the spiders close behind, the stairs shaking underneath their feet.  
"I don't think we're going to make it." Keisin said nervously as he jumped over a gaping hole between the steps, holding Pheona by the waist so that she could jump with him.  
"We have to- just keep going." Lir said, turning back to zap a few spiders with his remaining magic, looking to Amalthea. She wasn't looking very good- her eyes were drooping with exhaustion as rocks continued to pummel the top of her shield.  
She looked up with wide eyes as a large section of the wall toppled against the shield, falling around her as the glow flashed in and out before failing entirely. She fainted and fell, Lir moving quickly to catch her before she hit the ground. He picked her up as they continued to run, the spiders behind them crawling along the walls and ceiling as they came out of the staircase.  
Keisin turned around long enough to blast the first wave of them back, buying them a bit more time before the spiders started catching up to them again.  
"Aren't those things poisonous?" He yelled to Pheona over the rumbling, dodging a stone as it fell and crumbled against the ground.  
"Yeah- and they like to EAT you too!" She said in terror, trying not to look back as she ran with wide eyes.  
"We're almost at the bottom- just keep going." Rynu yelled over to her, jumping over a toppled over chair.  
"Wait- where's that gargoyle? We can't just leave him in here." Marina said, looking around as Rynu drug her toward the next room.  
"Does it matter? He sure as hell wouldn't do the same for us! Maybe he got out already."  
Marina looked back as the spiders snapped at her dress, making her screech with terror. Rynu pulled her forward to keep her from the spiders. , grunting in pain as his shoulder flexed from the effort.  
The stones started falling with more force and quantity, littering the air around them as they ran- as if it were raining rocks. They finally made it to the bottom of the tower, running across the room to see the door closed.  
"Oh Gods, it's locked!" Pheona yelled in terror.  
"Burn it down." Keisin yelled.  
Pheona nodded and sent a powerful blast of fire from her hands, knocking the door of its hinges. She, Keisin and Lir ran out as Rynu pushed Marina toward the door.  
"Wait! What about you?" Marina looked back at him as the spiders started pouring into the room.  
Rynu raised his hands, letting the vines crawl along the walls until they intertwined themselves into each other, making a thorny wall between him and the spiders.  
"Just go- I'll be right behind you!" He looked over his shoulder at her as the spiders started chewing their way through the vines, their venom burning through. He looked back to see Marina hesitate. "GO!"  
Marina nodded and ran out the door, fleeing the tower as a terribly rumble shouted. She dodged falling rocks and debri as they toppled to the ground around her, the earth shaking from the force.  
And then all was silent.  
She stayed on the jungle floor, gasping for breath with wide eyes before looking back to see the tower collapsed- and Rynu nowhere in sight.  
"NO! RYNU!" She screamed, scrambling to her feet to run back over to the tower, moving rubble out of the way to try and get to him. She tossed stones aside, grunting with the effort as tears ran down her cheeks. She finally came across a stone too large for her to lift and grunted with the effort to lift it before falling against it in frustration.  
"Damn it!" She yelled as she sobbed against the rock, hitting her fist against the stone in protest.  
A gentle hand touched her shoulder from behind, Marina looking over her shoulder to see Pheona looking down at her with wide teary eyes as well.  
"How could he? He said he'd be right behind me." Marina cried as Pheona hugged her reassuringly.  
"He just wanted you to be safe." Pheona said, her voice wavering with emotion as she hugged her friend tightly.  
Keisin stood staring at the rubble in disbelief, clenching his teeth together in an effort to stay strong. "We should get going before those spiders come out." He said, his voice rough.  
Pheona nodded, holding onto Marina as she pulled the woman from the rubble.  
"No- just… let me sit here for a bit." Marina said, sitting against the rock she had tried to lift.  
Pheona nodded and looked back to Lir, who was trying to comfort a hysterical Amalthea, holding her against him as she sobbed.  
Marina stood after a few minutes, wiping her face with her white sleeve before looking up at Pheona.  
"Let's get going." She said in a low voice, walking past her without looking at anything but the ground.  
"I'll call Ryoho back over." Lir said as they walked back over to the jungle.


	70. Chapter 70 Memories

Small legs scurried over stone, a green beetle stopping to tidy its pincers on top of the rubble.  
_I wonder why this place fell? It's been here as long as I can remember._ The beetle turned around to look behind him as another red beetle flew over a gap between two stones.  
_Who cares? It gives us more room to grow things!_ The red beetle flapped his wings excitedly as he grew a small vine sticking out of a crack in the stones.  
_Hey- this vine was already grown by someone! _The red beetle said, holding the small end of the vine with his front legs.  
The green beetle turned toward him in surprise and flew over to the spot, holding the vine as well. _You're right! It's filled with a lot of magic- though it's not very organized. _  
_I thought all the humans already left earlier. They did seem pretty upset though. _ The red beetle looked down at the vine, looking through the crack to see a hand far below. _There's a human down there!_  
_We should get him out- is he alive? _The green beetle chittered in excitement, holding the vine and letting it grow to push the stones aside far enough to let him crawl through the rocks. He skittered over to the human, seeing dark hair and blood covering his face. _He doesn't look too good._  
_Well what would he look like? He got squished!_ The red beetle crawled in after him, crawling across the human's face to hold the vine on the other side of him. _This one was grown too- do you think he did it?_  
_Oh that's exciting! A human with magic like ours? _ The green beetle flapped his wings inside the small space.  
_That is neat, isn't it? I wonder if he's as good at it as we are. _The red beetle pushed a small pebble off the human's face. _How do we get him out? He's so big!_  
The green beetle turned around, looking at the vines around them that were wrapped in with the stones. _We should grow the vines and carry him up with us- maybe the guardian can help him._  
_Good idea! _The red beetle said happily, walking over to a vine and wrapping his front legs around it so that it glowed a bright green, the vine quickly growing through the stones.  
_Whew. _ The red beetle sighed from the effort as the stones overhead rolled down the pile from being moved out of the way. _This is going to take a while._

Keisin sighed as he walked back into the room in the gargoyle city he had left Pheona in , to see her sitting in the same spot, still staring at the wall across the room with hollow eyes.  
"Hey- you need to eat something." Keisin said softly, taking a small pouch out of the pocket of his robe and taking out a piece of jerky. He handed it to her, closing her hand around it.  
Pheona looked down at it and sighed softly. "I'm really not that hungry."  
"You haven't eaten all day. Neither of you have. Do you really think he'd want either of you to suffer like this?" Keisin said, noticing how sunken her eyes were starting to look.  
"No, he wouldn't." Pheona looked down at the jerky and bit into it, chewing it slowly before swallowing with some effort.  
"There. Now stay here, I'm going to go see how Marina's doing." Keisin stood again, looking back at Pheona as she continued eating the rest of the jerky slowly. He closed the door behind him, walking along the plant bridges and climbing down a ladder to find Marina sitting on a fallen tree log, staring into the jungle. She was holding Rynu's satchel to her chest, tears running down her cheeks slowly.  
"Hey." Keisin said, sitting beside her. She looked up at him in surprise and quickly wiped her face on her sleeve.  
"You really loved him, huh?" Keisin looked over to her in concern.  
Marina bit her lip as she tried to keep her emotions back, and nodded quickly. She didn't dare open her mouth- she'd start crying again.  
"Did you tell him?"  
Marina looked over at him, looking a little lost and confused. "I'm not sure. I thought I made it obvious enough."  
Keisin sighed in dismay. "I'll tell you a secret- men are dense. Hell if I could tell whether or not Pheona had loved me or not before she told me. He was a good guy, but he wasn't the thickest tome in the library if you know what I mean. "  
Marina couldn't help but chuckle a little bit and nod. "Yeah, he… was a good guy though."  
"Yeah, he was." Keisin said softly. "We'll all miss him."  
Marina nodded, tears welling in her eyes again as she clutched his satchel to her chest. "Pheona said I should look in it- that she couldn't bear to see some of the things he had."  
Keisin looked at the brown leather bag in interest. "Have you looked yet?"  
Marina shook her head. "I'm kind of afraid to. What if I find a picture of a girl or something?"  
Keisin chuckled. "I somehow doubt you will. From what I saw, he feels the same as you do for him. Just take a look."  
Marina looked down at the bag and nodded, flipping the flap open and undoing the latch that held it shut. She looked inside to see only a few things- a few extra black cloths for Medusa, a ragged old comb with a few black hairs in it, a bunch of jerky wrapped in a cloth and a small green book with the binding torn and a few pages loose. She reached in and took the book out, looking at it with wide eyes.  
"What- do you know what it is?" Keisin said, looking at the small book curiously. It didn't look like anything special- just a small book on earth magic.  
"Yeah- I gave this to him before he left for the Brotherhood. He kept it this whole time." Marina said, trying not to cry again.  
Keisin looked down at the book, noticing by the binding that Rynu obviously hadn't opened it much. Why had he kept a book this whole time that he hadn't read?  
"He cared for you, Marina. He wouldn't have wanted to see you this sad about him. Come on- you and Pheona can play with Amalthea's hair or whatever you girls do to cheer up. I don't like seeing you guys this upset, and Rynu wouldn't either."  
Marina looked up at him and sighed, nodding slowly. "You're right I guess." She said, standing up and following Keisin back to the city.


	71. Chapter 71 Revival

Well, this was it.  
Rynu opened his eyes, seeing nothing but brightness around him- everything was white brilliance. Was this was it was like to die?  
The last thing he had remembered was watching Marina run out the castle and looking up to see stones falling toward him, the ground shaking beneath his feet. No one could have survived an entire tower falling on them- he had probably been buried for days before finally dying. Why couldn't he remember anything?  
_He's awake!_ A small voice said happily as the light started fading. Rynu blinked his eyes, trying to focus better as things started to materialize around him- trees, vines, the blue sky and a rather massive green beetle staring down at him.  
Rynu yelled in shock and scrambled back, squinting his eyes as the world around him came back into view.  
_I was starting to worry for a minute_. An enourmous manticore looked down at him- it had to be at least the size of the cabin back at Avalon! Gods, what was going on?  
"What's going on?" He yelled angrily, but froze when all that came out was a feline wail of discontent. He blinked in shock for a minute, looking at the hand he was pointing with- it was a black paw.  
_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!_ Rynu yelled in frustration, putting his paws on either side of his head. _No! I can't be a cat again- I can't! Is this my punishment for doing all those things? What kind of afterlife is this?  
Calm down. _The manticore sighed in frustration.  
_You're not dead, human- not anymore, at least._ The green beetle flapped its wings in excitement. Another beetle crawled into view, standing next to the green one to inspect him.  
_He's small now! _The red one said in confusion.  
The green one turned to him, silent for a minute before shaking his small head. _Idiot.  
Tell me what's happening- why am I a tienko again?_ Rynu insisted, wanting answers.  
_Well you had this form in you already for some reason- so it was the easiest choice. I didn't have much time left- you had already lost quite a bit of blood._ The manticore shrugged.  
Rynu blinked in surprise. _So I was dying? How did you heal me then?_ That would have taken a lot of magic.  
_I am the guardian of Raza jungle, you know. _The manticore said indignantly. _  
You're Falter? _Rynu looked up at the large manticore with wide eyes.  
_Things are different from a smaller perspective. _The manticore said, smiling a toothy grin.  
Rynu sat up, his double-tipped tail swaying behind him in frustration. _So- you changed me into a cat, now change me back to normal. I hate being a tienko.  
I'm afraid it's not that simple. Your human body was badly broken. So much so that I couldn't heal it all even with most of my magic. I had to put a long term healing spell on you.  
_Rynu looked up at the manticore with wide eyes. _Broken? How badly?  
Dozens of bones shattered, some punctured organs. You would not have lived through the night if these two hadn't found you._ The manticore motioned to the two beetles.  
Rynu looked down at the beetles, his eyes wide in shock. _But I feel fine.  
That is part of the spell. In this form you are safe to heal. If you change back to human, you will certainly die.  
_Rynu hissed in anger, the hair on his back standing on end. _The others probably think I'm dead! I have to tell them!  
_Falter shook his head slowly. _I think it is best you do not. Go to them, but do not let them know it is you until seven rises from now.  
_Rynu stared at the ground in frustration. He didn't want to lie to them –especially about something like this.  
_Can we go with him? _The green beetle looked up at the manticore eagerly. Falter looked down at them in surprise.  
_If he wishes you to, you may go wherever you want._ Falter nodded.  
Rynu shrugged. _Why not?_  
The green beetle flapped his wings happily, turning in a circle. _I have never traveled with a magi before! This is exciting!  
Hey- can you grow vines? _The red beetle said, crawling over to Rynu.  
_Uh… yeah.___Rynu answered, wondering why they asked. The red beetle hopped excitedly and joined his brother in flying around the small clearing.  
_We should get going. You will need to go with your group as soon as possible- I do not know how long they will stay in the jungle._ Falter looked down at Rynu with amusement. _Perhaps you should ride on my back- I have a feeling several cobras would love to make a lunch out of you. I will bring you near the city, though I think it is best if you walk the rest of the way on your own. Remember what I said, magi. Do not try to have the sorcerer turn you human until seven rises.  
_Rynu froze, his hair rising on end at the through. He nodded and jumped clumsily up onto the manticore's back.  
_You two come along as well._ Falter looked back at the beetles, who flew after the manticore as he ran through the brush back to the gargoyle city.

Marina sat on the log, looking down at the small green book. She had no more tears- they had all run out. Instead all she could do was just sit here and try not to break down. She looked up as something rustled the bushes in front of her, watching warily in case something dangerous decided to attack.  
She watched as a black tienko huffed for air, looking around tiredly before flopping onto its stomach in exhaustion.  
She ran over to the creature, wondering what a tienko was doing in the middle of Raza jungle. She kneeled next to it and patted it on the head reassuringly.  
"Poor guy, you look pretty tired." She whispered.  
The tienko froze and looked up at her with wide eyes before letting out a low mrowl of frustration and lying his head back down as he tried to catch his breath.  
"Here, I'll get you some food." Marina said, picking the tienko up gently and holding it against her chest as she carried it over to her hut.

Rynu laid in Marina's arms, trying not to grin happily as she carried him off. He relaxed against her with a long sigh. The rest of the way had been quite a trek through such thick jungles- especially when he was still so tired from being healed.  
_I could get used to this_. He said, leaning his head against Marina's shoulder.


	72. Chapter 72 Deception

Rynu looked down at the bowl, his nose wrinkled uneasily at the smell of whatever was put into the bowl. It smelled like… rancid fish.  
"The other cats at Inasi like this stuff." Marina smiled down at the tienko, but frowned when it only stared at the food.  
_I think if I eat this it will make me sick. _Rynu stared at the fish, but looked up at Marina's uneasy face. She looked worried- that and the sadness that was in her eyes made him sigh and lean forward, taking a mouthful of the food. He chewed it slowly, cringing at the taste before swallowing it with a shudder of disgust.  
Marina looked down as another black tienko poked his head out of her bag from the smell of food, squinting his green eyes suspiciously at this strange new cat. He jumped to the ground, walking over to the stranger warily  
_And who are you supposed to be? _Shallal said, his tail lashing behind him anxiously.  
Rynu looked up at the new cat, glancing up to Marina was she watched the two of them uneasily, hoping they'd get along.  
"He's right, we should give you a name." Marina smiled down at the new tienko, looking at his deep green eyes- eyes that reminded her of…  
"Rynu." She said softly. "I'll name you after him."  
Rynu looked up at her in concern, seeing her sad expression. She looked crushed- he desperately wanted to tell her it was him, but knew he couldn't… not yet.  
_That's ironic as hell. At least I won't have to get used to a new name or something for a week._ He said before attempting to swallow another bite of the food and nearly gagging from the raw fish.  
_What?_ Shallal said in confusion, his ears flipping back warily. _What are you talking about?  
_Rynu looked up at the tienko and grumbled in frustration _I forgot you can hear me._  
"I wonder why I can only hear Shallal." Marina said in confusion. Usually if a creature was close to her she could hear it- but I guess in this case he hadn't been around long enough. Hopefully eventually she would hear him.  
_Can cats keep secrets?_ Rynu looked over at the other tienko suspiciously. _I'm not sure._  
_Are you joking?_ Shallal scoffed. _What kind of tienko are you?  
Yes or No, Shallal._ Rynu said, letting out a low mrowl of frustration.  
_Fine, yes. Though Marina can hear everything I say. _Shallal looked up at the water magi, who shrugged innocently.  
"I can't hear him, though." She said, pointing to Rynu.  
_Probably for the best._ Rynu snickered. If she heard his voice coming out of a cat she would probably laugh. _Alright Shallal, you know the guy that she's so sad about losing?  
Yeah- you're named after him. What about him?_ The cat tilted its head in confusion.  
_I AM him. _Rynu said confidently.  
Shallal stared at him for a bit before starting to laugh _Oh, you're joking.  
Yeah, and two beetles saved me from the tower, and the forest spirit turned me into a tienko.  
_Shallal flipped his ears back and let out a small hiss. _Stop joking about something so serious- she's really hurt about losing him.  
I know! I can't tell her, or else she'd want me to turn back to human, but I can't yet. _Rynu said in frustration.  
_Well why not? You'd make her happy! _Shallal hissed, wanting to see his magi happy- she had been inconsolable for nearly a day now.  
_If I do, I die. I can't turn back for a week. I just have to pretend to be a tienko, I guess._ Rynu snorted.  
_I don't like this. _Shallal glanced up at Marina, who was looking confused only hearing one side of the conversation.  
"So, what did you learn about our new friend?" Marina said, petting Shallal gently on the side of the cheek.  
The tienko leaned into the pet, purring softly _He is a strange tienko, that's for sure._ Shallal looked back at Rynu meaningfully, Rynu sighing with relief that he hadn't told marina and nodded in thanks.  
_If you're not going to eat that, I will._ Shallal motioned toward the food in front of Rynu. Rynu stuck out his tongue at the thought of eating another bite, pushing the bowl toward Shallal, who ate eagerly.

Rynu laid across the back of a chair, amazed at the sense of balance cats had- he was lying with his legs dangling on either side of the chair back as he sighed from exhaustion. This spell was making him constantly tired- or maybe that was the tienko. He wasn't too sure.  
He looked up as someone entered the room, Amalthea looking around and glancing at him before looking away to look for something. She froze and turned slowly back over to him, her purple eyes wide.  
"RYNU!" She screamed happily, running over to the cat and hugging him tightly  
_Ah, stop it stop it stop it! _Rynu struggled as she squished him to her. He was fine if Marina hugged him- but with Amalthea it just felt weird.  
"How… how are you a tienko?" Amalthea whispered in shock, sitting on the chair and setting Rynu on her lap.  
_It's a long story- but you have to promise me you won't tell ANYONE that I'm me. _Rynu insisted seriously. _I can't turn back into a human for at least a week. Falter said that if I do, I'll die.  
_Amalthea looked down at him as her eyes glazed over for a moment and she nodded in agreement. "You're right- it's best not to tell. Lir will recognize you too- I'll let him know before he sees you and makes a fuss."  
Rynu nodded and sighed in relief that someone knew it was him- that made him feel at least a little better.  
"I thought you had died- I couldn't see your future for a while." Amalthea said softly, putting her hand on Rynu's back as he laid down across her legs.  
_A couple of beetles found me and dug me out, I guess. They're out in the forest waiting for me to turn human._ Rynu let out a long yawn, setting his head down on his paws.  
"Did Falter put a long term healing spell on you? He must have if you're so tired and you're a tienko."  
Rynu nodded, not really wanting to say much else- his mind was starting to fog with exhaustion.  
Amalthea smiled softly down at Rynu and chuckled, sitting on the chair and letting Rynu sleep on her lap. She was just glad he was still alive.


	73. Chapter 73 Matchmaker

"You have to eat something, woman!" Keisin growled in frustration as Pheona sat on her bed, her head in her hands. Rynu opened the door with his front paw, peeking inside.  
"I'm not hungry- okay? Just leave me alone for a while." She said, her voice strangely monotone.  
Keisin threw up his hands in submission, leaving the room silently. He glanced at the tienko on the way out, but otherwise paid no mind to it.  
Rynu glared at Keisin as the sorcerer climbed down the ladder of the tree house, walking back over to the door and freezing when he heard Pheona start to cry.  
In all the years that Rynu had known Pheona- the only time she had cried was when her parents had died. Seeing her cry so hard now…  
Gods, what had he done? He needed to tell Pheona and Marina that he was alright- he was alive! But Falter had been adamant about that part… what should he do?  
He walked into the room, not knowing what to do- should he leave her alone or should he try to comfort her?  
"Hey- aren't you supposed to be with Marina?" Pheona said, wiping her face with her sleeve. Rynu paused and walked toward her, jumping up onto the bed beside her, watching her silently for a bit.  
"My, aren't you a friendly tienko? Usually they can't stand me for some reason." Pheona sighed, reaching over cautiously and patting Rynu on the head. "What were you doing in the jungle, anyway?"  
Rynu looked up at her and grinned. _Trying not to get eaten by cobras. No wonder Conintor hates them.  
_Pheona picked Rynu up, making him yowl in surprise as she set him on her lap. She leaned over and reached into her pack, taking out a large piece of jerky Keisin had given her.  
"Here- you can eat this. Cats can eat jerky, can't they?" Pheona smiled. "I'm only good at raising unicorns, it seems. I don't know what other creatures eat."  
_Oh Gods! FOOD. _Rynu pounced on the jerky, chewing the end savagely as he held it.  
"Wow, you must be hungry!" Pheona chuckled as the tienko glanced up at her and continued eating, already halfway done with the jerky. She looked down at him, noticing a few odd things about him. He seemed to have a lot of scars- they were all across his front and upper arms, half hidden by the black fur that covered him.  
"Marina was right- you remind me a lot of Rynu too. You even have similar scars." Pheona said softly.  
Rynu froze, staring up at her with wide eyes. _Gods, does she know?  
_"But you're just a tienko." Pheona sighed softly. "He hated being a tienko back then. I still remember when he coughed up that furball." She giggled in amusement.  
_Don't remind me._ Rynu rolled his eyes. He looked down at himself, realizing that she was right. He still had all his scars and he would bet his only gold, that the tattoo was still under the black fur that covered his arm.  
Rynu finished the jerky, letting out a long sigh as his stomach was finally sated.  
"I wish I knew how to deal with other creatures. I've been trying to cheer Medusa up, but she won't even look at me."  
_OH GODS, MEDUSA!_ Rynu yelled in horror. He needed to tell her he was okay! He let out a loud wail and jumped off Pheona's lap and sprinted out of the room, nearly knocking into Lir as he opened the door.

Rynu found Medusa curled in the corner of a room, coiled up on herself. He walked over cautiously, putting a paw on her black and green scales.  
_Go away._ Medusa hissed angrily, rearing her head and baring her long fangs.  
_Like hell I will_. Rynu said stubbornly, sitting down next to her.  
Medusa looked up at him, staring for a moment as he tongue flicked in and out of her mouth, scenting the air. _Rynu?_ She said hopefully- as if afraid to ask.  
_Yep. It's me. I'm stuck as a tienko again._ Rynu looked down at himself in frustration.  
Medusa let out a loud hiss and wrapped herself around him, tightening her coils in a hug and making Rynu wheeze as the breath was squeezed out of him.  
_Medusa- loosen - can't breath! _Rynu struggled before Medusa loosened her grip, Rynu gasping for breath and laughing. _Be careful with that- you're a lot bigger than me right now._  
Medusa set her cheek against his, the spines along her back raised happily. _I thought you were squished! Lir told me what happened- he said he doubted you could live through it.  
Yeah well, here I am. I'm sorry I scared everyone._ Rynu said. He looked down at himself and stood on his back legs, wrapping his arms around Medusa in a hug _Unfortunately that's the best I can do for now as a comfort. I hate being this small.  
Do the others know you are… you?_ Medusa said, suddenly sounding serious.  
_No, I can't turn back to human for at least a week. Lir was right, I probably wouldn't have lived too long if those beetles hadn't found me.  
Beetles? _Medusa tilted her head curiously. _Beetles saved you?  
I know. Saved by beetles, that sounds pretty lame when you think about it- but I'm grateful they did. Be nice to them.  
_Medusa sighed. _Fine. I don't like bugs though.  
_Rynu sighed happily, glad that at least Medusa knew he was alright. He hated to see everyone so unhappy all the time.  
_You should tell Marina._ Medusa said, glancing down at the tienko with her fangs bared in a smile.  
_No way. She would want me to turn back to a human. It's already torture for me as it is._  
_Oh poor baby._ Medusa mocked. _It's only one week- but she is in a lot of distress. She really loves you, you know. At least try to spend more time with her. I won't mind, I promise._  
Rynu looked up at Medusa and snickered _You are such a sneaky basilisk, aren't you?_  
_Someone needs to help you with women. You obviously have no idea how to handle them yourself._  
Rynu rolled his eyes and sighed. Unfortunately he couldn't argue with that.  
_Alright, Medusa. I'll to see Marina- but don't say anything to Shalal about this, okay? I already get enough gripe from her too._ Rynu let out a low growl and walked out of the room as Medusa snickered behind him.


	74. Chapter 74 Secrets Revealed

Rynu lay on Marina's lap, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. She was sitting in what in the past few days had come to be known as her 'usual spot', sitting on a fallen log and watching the jungle.  
He didn't know if she was waiting for him, or if she was mourning. Either way, her sad expression made his insides twist.  
This time though, she took out her satchel and let Shalal out before looking through its contents and taking something out. Rynu sat up curiously, wondering what she had grabbed and was staring at. He moved beside her on the log and froze in shock when he saw the small leather bound book, worn at the edges and nearly falling apart.  
_No!_ Rynu screamed internally, trying his best not to let his emotions show. There wsa something important in that book! If she found it…  
She continued to look at it until she opened the small book, looking at her own handwriting inside the front cover  
'Happy Birthday, Rynu!  
-Marina'  
She flipped through the first few pages as Rynu sat stiffly beside her, his black fur standing on end anxiously.  
She stopped, a small gasp coming from her as she saw a crumpled note stuck neatly between two pages in the middle of the worn book. She took it out, looking at it with wide eyes. It wasn't from anyone she knew- the handwriting was strangely abrupt in its style.

'I am dictating for Rynu, as he lacks the knowledge to write for himself. In this time he is falling under control of The Beast. This note serves as a reminder to who he is- or was.'

Rynu lay on the log, unable to watch her read the note. He should have known something like this would happen!

'I never really had a good childhood. My father killed my mother, and I in turn killed him.  
My uncle took me in, bringing me to Avalon to live with my cousin Pheona. Soon after, Avalon was destroyed by a sorcerer. My uncle and aunt were both killed in the fire.  
We went to live with my aunt's friend Conintor. I can honestly say that I've never met a nicer man.  
It was then that I met The Brotherhood. I was not allowed to learn earth magic from The Keep, and so agreed to join The Brotherhood to learn basic spells.  
What a stupid mistake.  
Demetre gave me my tattoo by killing a woman- I was terrified. I managed to get away with Tam's help and escaped.  
I loved in peace for a while, but soon they found me and I knew that if I didn't go back, they would kill those I love.  
The hardest thing I've had to do was betray them, but I knew that if I didn't, it would only hurt them more.  
They brought me here to the tower in Raza, where I remain a prisoner until I am broken.  
He wants The Beast to take me over. I have fought as long as I can, but with each day of torture I grow weaker. If I fall completely and lose myself forever, I need to say this.  
I could not tell her before I left what I feel for her- though I wish I had.  
If you do find this note and I am either dead or no longer myself, tell marina that I loved her. Let her take care of Medusa if she lives, and I hope her life is more peaceful than mine was.  
For I am tainted with darkness- and I fear it may consume me and all those I am near.

-Rynu  
(dictated by Tam)'

Marina stared at the note with wide eyes, a small squeak of anguish coming from her throat. Rynu watched her with wide green eyes as she started crying, not knowing what to do. She hit the log beneath her with her fist, making Rynu jump in surprise. She wiped her face and folded the note back up carefully, putting it back in the book. She grabbed both tienkos under her arms, ignoring their yowls of protest as she ran back toward the gargoyle city.

_What's going on?_ Rynu yelled to Shalal as they bounced up and down as Marina ran- this was really uncomfortable as she ran across the tree bridges.  
"Where is he?" Marina ran into a building, looking at the gargoyle who was standing in front of a human, healing them.  
"Um… who?" the gargoyle asked, blinking in confusion.  
"Are you looking for me?" The red haired man behind the gargoyle asked, stepping around to look at her curiously. "Who are you?"  
"I'm Marina." She said, her voice hitching with emotion from the note.  
Tam's eyes widened in surprise. "So you're Marina? He talked a lot about you."  
Marina closed her eyes for a minute as she tried to contain herself. "Do you know anything about the note in Rynu's book?"  
"Note? Oh- you mean the one I wrote for him?" Tam crossed his arms over his bare chest, which were covered with scars similar to Rynu's.  
"Yes… did he really mean it?" Marina said, ignoring Rynu as he tried to twist out of her grip.  
"What, that he loved you? Of course he did." Tam said with a small smile. "He just didn't want to tell you, because he was afraid he would hurt you."  
_Shut up, you idiot!_ Rynu screeched within Marina's arm, but she held him tightly.  
"How would he hurt me?" Marina asked in confusion.  
"Well, these tattoos make it so that we can turn evil pretty much whenever Isildre wants us to. He probably didn't want you to get hurt if he did. I don't know if the darkness in us is able to go into others either."  
"Oh." Marina said in surprise. Come to think of it, Rynu had said something like that to her before… but she had thought he was just being silly and overdramatic.  
"Though if you want to, I can tell you what happened after that note was written."  
Marina looked at him and nodded softly.  
"Well, you probably have heard of my sister- Dela. She was held here too- in the same room as Rynu and I. Rynu and Dela started falling under the control of The Beast at about the same time. For a little while Rynu lost himself- he was almost trapped within his own body. He managed to find himself, and my sister did soon after. She… fell in love with him."  
Marina flinched at that, looking away uneasily.  
"Oh don't worry. He was way too dense to even know she had until she actually told him. She asked him to marry her- since she was older. He rejected her- because he said he already loved another woman. I'm guessing that was still you." Tam pointed to her with a grin. "So don't worry. He still loved you even up until the end. That never changed. I've never known a man as stubborn as Rynu as- and probably never will.  
_Traitor. I'll punch you in the face when I turn human again._ Rynu hissed angrily. Why was Tam talking about him so freely to Marina?  
_Idiot. He thinks you're dead too._ Shalal said from Marina's other arm.  
Rynu sagged within Marina's grip. _This is such a nightmare. I had wanted to tell her myself.  
Early cat catches the bird._ Shalal sneered.  
Rynu glared at the other cat and sighed in frustration. She was right.


	75. Chapter 75 Xylem and Melyx

Rynu walked into a treehouse and flopped onto the floor in frustration, letting out a long groan. Marina knew he loved her now- but he wished he had been able to tell her himself instead of reading that damn note.  
"Not going well, is it?" A familiar voice said from in front of him. Rynu looked up to see Keisin sitting in a chiar and reading a book, glancing over the top of the cover at him.  
_Wait…_ Rynu sat up and looked at Keisin with wide green eyes. Did he know he was really human?  
"Don't look at me like you're shocked, of course I know you're you. I knew when I saw you in Pheona's doorway. You still have a bit of my magic in you while you're in that form." Keisin grinned wryly. "I can sense my own magic pretty easily."  
Rynu scoffed in disbelief- not because he didn't believe Keisin actually knew him, but because Keisin had known the entire time and had ignored him anyway.  
"So when were you wanting me to change you back to human? Probably soon, I bet."  
Rynu shook his head quickly. He still needed two more days as a tienko- if Keisin turned him back now, the healing spell wouldn't be finished.  
Keisin looked down at him in surprise and shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just let me know when you do and I'll change you back. It'll cheer Pheona up at least." Keisin glared at the doorway. "I don't like that she's not eating enough, but she just so stubborn. I guess it runs in the family." Keisin looked back down at Rynu with a snicker.  
Rynu glared at Keisin and snorted. It was true, but he didn't want to admit it.  
Keisin chuckled as Rynu snorted again and walked out of the room in annoyance.

Marina looked down at her new black tienko, wondering what was wrong with him. He had come up to her earlier and lay down next to her in a heap- as if he were depressed about something. But tienkos don't get depressed normally- they're fairly hardy creatures.  
"What's wrong, big guy?" Marina picked up the larger tienko, watching him hang limply in her grip, his eyes filled with frustration. He looked away from her, as if he was trying not to look at her too much with his eyes.  
"You're a moody fella, aren't you?" Marina chuckled and set him on her lap, running her hand along his back gently. He stiffened for a minute, his claws digging into her thick robes but not harming her at all. "I'm not going to hurt you or anything, calm down." Marina chuckled.  
Rynu looked up at her with wide eyes, relaxing slowly. He finally just laid on her lap as she ran her hand along his spine, trying to ignore how good it felt.  
He was looking forward to being human again. Being in situations like this was starting to drive him crazy.  
_I'm looking forward to it too. I'm tired of hearing you whine._ Shallal opened an eye from her nap to see Rynu's glare and smiled wryly.

_Well, you finally turn human again tomorrow._ Medusa hissed as Rynu laid back against her green and black scales. He sighed happily and nodded, looking back at her.  
_Yeah- and then I can tell everyone I'm alright. I'm looking forward to making them happy.  
_Medusa looked down at him uneasily and sighed. _They may be angry with you too, you know. You have been hiding from the underneath their noses the entire time.  
_Rynu sighed and nodded, holding his tail in his paw to fiddle with it thoughtfully. _I know- I'm hoping I can calm people down enough that they won't be angry with me for too long. I'm mostly worried about Marina… she'll be really angry.  
Yes, she probably will be. Just stay calm and try to comfort her. Tell her why you did the things you did._ Medusa looked up in surprise when a buzzing sounded in the room. Two large beetles flew into the room and landed next to Rynu, chittering loudly.  
_We got tired of waiting! Is it time yet? Are you going to turn human soon?_ The red beetle said, turning in a circle in excitement. _Falter helped us be able to talk to you if you're human too!  
Oh great._ Rynu put a paw up to his forehead in dismay. He was going to have to listen to these guys constantly.  
_Shut up, idiot! _The green beetle flapped his wings anxiously. _He cannot turn back human until tomorrow.  
That's not nice_. The red beetle turned to his brother, sagging sadly.  
_Are they always like this?_ Medusa sighed in dismay.  
_As long as I've been around them. _Rynu chuckled. _So what are your guys' names anyway? Do you have names?  
_The beetles turned to each other, chittering back and forth for a minute before turning back to Rynu.  
_No, we have no names. You are a magi, will you give us names? _The green one said excitedly._  
Of course. How about…_ Rynu looked at the green beetle as it waited eagerly. It reminded him of the bright insides of a vine- what did Conintor call it…? The Xylem?  
_How about Xylem? _ Rynu looked down at the beetle to see its reaction.  
_That sounds great! _Xylem said happily, his green wings flapping behind him and making a loud buzzing noise.  
_What about me? _The red beetle said. _I want to be called Farir!_  
_You can't be called Farir, stupid._ Xylem scoffed. _That's a different creature than you!  
But they're so pretty- what else would I be called?  
How about Melyx? Since you're brothers._ Rynu shrugged.  
_That's a good idea! Alright, we'll be back in the jungle. My brother-er- Melyx just wanted to see how you were doing.  
He's doing fine! _Melyx said happily.  
Xylem turned to the red beetle and let out a long frustrated sigh. _We will be back tomorrow. Until then, Rynu._  
Rynu watched the two beetles open their wings and fly out the window of the room with loud buzzes.  
_Those two are very noisy._ Medusa shook her head.  
_They mean well. _Rynu said as he leaned back against her again and let out a tired yawn.  
_Go to sleep Rynu, you will need your rest for the transformation tomorrow. _Medusa said, setting her head against the wooden planks of the floor to sleep as well.


	76. Chapter 76 Human Again

Keisin looked down at Rynu with a grin. "Ready, furball?"  
Rynu let out a low growl, glaring up at him angrily at the nickname, but nodded.  
"Alright, same thing as before- stay still." Keisin said. He raised his hands above the tienko, glowing a bright golden color that surrounded Rynu. He let out a low growl of pain as the glow expanded, forming into the shape of a man before fading.  
"Oh man." Keisin looked at Rynu in concern.  
"What?" Rynu looked up at him, sighing in relief when he was able to talk.  
"You don't look so good." Keisin said, looking at him with wide eyes.  
Rynu looked down at himself and couldn't help but agree. Half his arms were covered with bruises, deep purple and red splotches covering his skin. Scrapes covered his elbows and knees, his clothes torn.  
"I can fix the clothes, but the rest… that's beyond my healing knowledge." Keisin said, looking at Rynu's black eye and the gashes on his face with pity. The sorcerer raised a hand, Rynu's clothes glowing gold and mending.  
"Alright, I'll… go see if Marina can." Rynu said uneasily. He had a feeling she would be too angry with him to want to heal him.  
"Good luck." Keisin said, waving as Rynu started making his way down the ladder to the ground, wincing with pain occasionally as he moved.

Marina was sitting in her usual spot, facing toward the forest with Shallal sitting next to her. He walked up behind her and waited, trying to think of what to say.  
"Marina." He decided to keep it simple, and watched as she tensed. She turned around slowly and looked back at him with wide eyes, staring for a minute.  
"You'd think that if I were going to imagine him, he'd look less beat up." She whispered to herself, looking at his bruises and scrapes.  
"Imagine?" Rynu smiled, amused that she would miss him so much as to believe she was imagining him.  
"Oh, he talks. Great. That means I'm going crazy." Marina said in frustration, turning back away from him.  
Rynu chuckled, leaning down and wrapping his arms around her. She felt warm, and tensed under his touch when his hands settled gently on her hips.  
"Wait…" Marina whispered, looking to his face as he watched her carefully. "But there's no way… you were crushed- no one could have-"  
"Survived?" Rynu smiled warmly. "You can thank a couple of beetles for that."  
She watched him for a minute, reaching up slowly to touch his cheek and then bit her lip as tears started welling in her eyes.  
"Oh Gods, it is you." She whispered and turned in his grip, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled and tightened his hold around her in a gentle hug.  
"Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry I couldn't turn back earlier- I hated to see you so sad."  
"Wait- what?" She moved back to look at him in confusion.  
"Oh- I was a tienko. See, Falter needed to give me a powerful healing spell that lasted a while- he said I couldn't turn human again until a week had passed."  
"A… tienko." She said, her eyes narrowing. "A _black_ tienko?"  
"Yeah, why?" Rynu looked down at her in confusion.  
"You mean, you were here the entire time letting me believe you were dead, and you were just sitting there as a tienko?" Marina yelled.  
"It's not like I could tell you directly- besides, it was already torture enough for me, I figured it would just be easier if you didn't know."  
"Easier?" Marina scoffed. "Do you know how much it hurt me to think that you had died? You have NO idea, do you?" She said, shaking with anger. She pushed his arms away, looking at him with narrow eyes.  
"Well I'm not. I'm here, though pretty beat up still." Rynu looked down at his arms, not wanting to think of what it would look like if he had changed human before the week was done.  
Marina looked up at him and let out a frustrated yell, turning and walking into the forest behind her with loud stomping steps of anger.  
Rynu watched her leave, not knowing what to say or do.  
He had really messed up this time.

_He's just standing there- why isn't he following her?_ The red beetle said from behind a fern leaf, watching Rynu.  
_He probably doesn't know what to do. He can't hike very well either- look at all those bruises.  
Hmm, you're right._ The red beetle sighed in dismay. _But he likes her a lot.  
_The green beetle watched Rynu thoughtfully for a minute. _Hey, I have an idea. You follow the girl, and I'll stay with Rynu. We'll meet up in a bit, okay?  
Okay! _The red beetle said, opening his wings and flying after Marina as she went through the jungle.

Rynu looked down in surprise as a beetle flew into view, landing on his shoulder.  
_Greetings Rynu. Why are you not following after the woman? You seemed to get along quite well for a moment._  
"Xylem?" Rynu looked at the beetle sitting on his shoulder- he was so much smaller now that he was back to his real form.  
_Yes, I'm Xylem. _The beetle said, looking down as Rynu opened a hand for the beetle to land on and flew over to rest on his palm.  
Rynu looked down at the beetle with amusement. He nearly filled his hand- the green bug was much larger than other insect creatures he had seen such as Prism.  
"I don't know what to say other than what's already been said. She's angry with me again." Rynu looked into the forest with a frown, hoping she was alright. He had learned the hard way that this jungle wasn't very friendly.  
_Do you really love her?_ The beetle said, turning to face him.  
"Of course." Rynu said defensively.  
_Then follow her! Females need a male who is insistent and stubborn- do not let her run away from you._ The beetle flapped its green wings in excitement. _Tell her you love her- don't wonder if it sounds too sappy or something, just go with it!  
_Rynu thought about it for a minute and nodded. "Alright- hang on." Rynu set the beetle back on his shoulder and ran into the forest, hoping to find Marina quickly. 


	77. Chapter 77 Final Reveal

Marina finally stopped running, looking around her with wide eyes. She didn't see anything that she recognized… Great, she had gotten lost in her anger.  
He was alive… relief flooded her so much that she almost choked with it- but the fact that he had let her even believe he had died in the first place when he was RIGHT THERE the entire time made her bristle with fury.  
He had been right though- if he had told her that he was there, she would have asked him to turn back to human. Why hadn't he in the first place though? All he had said was he was under a healing spell. Maybe he did have a reason to stay as a tienko after all…  
She looked up in surprise as rustling sounded in the distance, coming toward her quickly. She looked up in time to see a beetle fly toward her and hover over her head before Rynu came crashing through the brush. He fell to the ground and laid there for a minute, groaning in pain as he held his side, his breathing labored and deep.  
"Hey-" Marina ran over and kneeled next to him, looking him over in concern. "Where does it hurt?"  
Rynu looked up at her with bright green eyes, the look of desperate pleading on his face making her pause for a moment.  
"Marina- please don't be angry with me." He said through gritted teeth. He sat up on the ground, his arm still wrapped against his side, as if the pressure would stop the pain- but it obviously didn't.  
"Shut up and stay still, your rib is broken." Marina said quickly, putting her hands to his chest and flooding her healing magic into him. Actually a few of them were broken- it was a wonder he was even walking.  
"Why did you follow after me like this?" She whispered in disbelief when she finished healing his ribs, watching him breathe deeply with relief.  
"You were upset with me." Rynu said, looking up at her with a slight frown.  
Marina sighed in dismay. "Idiot, of course I was. That doesn't mean you nearly kill yourself running after me, though."  
Rynu sighed, running a hand through his black curly hair in frustration. "I'm tired of always hurting you. I try my hardest not to, but I always seem to do it anyway. I just don't…know how to act."  
"You don't hurt me Rynu, I'm just upset that I thought you were dead when you weren't. You could have turned human at any point, right?"  
"No. If I had turned human before this morning I would have died. If the spell wasn't finished, Falter said I wouldn't last long."  
Marina bit her lip and nodded. She could believe that- he looked like he had gotten beaten even with the healing spell finished. She couldn't imagine what he had looked like in the first place.  
"I didn't mean to trick you, I wasn't meaning to deceive you. I just wanted to be around you and try to comfort you, even though I couldn't talk to you and tell you I was alright."  
Marina looked up at him, hesitant for a minute. "That means you saw me read the note and talk to Tam."  
"Tam." Rynu growled, looking back in the direction of the jungle. "I'm going to kick his ass for saying all that, but yes I saw it. I heard it, and I saw your reaction."  
Marina paused for a minute, suddenly realizing how close he was to her- they were both facing each other, on their knees on the ground from trying to heal him. "So… was it true?" She said, unable to look at him.  
"Was what true?" Rynu tilted his head in confusion.  
Marina sighed in frustration. "You're so dense. Was everything in the note true- including the last part?"  
Rynu thought for a minute, desperately trying to remember everything the note had said. He hadn't been able to read it as Marina had, so he had to get it from memory.  
"Yes, all of it's true. Especially the last part." He smiled softly. "Is it really that surprising?"  
Marina looked toward the ground, fiddling with the sleeve of her dress nervously. "I just… was never sure. I saw you kept the book the whole time, though."  
"Of course I did." Rynu leaned closer to her, running a hand cautiously through her white hair and waiting to see her reaction. She looked up at him shyly, making his heart thump painfully in his chest. Gods she was cute.  
"I need to hear you say it, Rynu. I don't want to hear it from Tam or some paper. I need to hear it from you."  
Rynu smiled warmly and cupped her face in his hands gently so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "I love you, Marina. I always have, and always will."  
Marina stared at him for a minute before letting out a high cry and wrapping her arms around his neck, crying loudly. "I missed you so much- how could you have stayed in there like that? You said you were right behind me."  
"I didn't mean to have the ceiling fall on my head. Trust me, I would have rather it didn't." Rynu chuckled as he held her tightly, trying to comfort her.  
Marina calmed down and kept her head leaning on his shoulder, breathing in the scent of vines and harsh spices. Behind the black cloth of his shirt was a large purple bruise beneath her cheek- it couldn't have felt comfortable for him.  
"Are you alright then? Do you still hurt?" She leaned away, wiping her face with her sleeve. She had never cried in front of him before, and felt a little embarrassed.  
"Sore as hell, but not really hurting." Rynu looked down at himself. "I look like I got run over by a Brontotherium."  
Marina chuckled and nodded, not able to argue with that- he looked terrible. "I'm just glad you're back."  
"Me too." Rynu said leaning down and kissing her softly, grinning in how red Marina's cheeks turned. "Now, let's get back. I still need to tell Pheona, and I still need to kick Tam's ass." He said, standing and holding a hand down to help her up.  
"Be nice to him- he didn't mean anything." Marina said, taking his hand and yelling in surprise when he hoisted her to her feet easily.  
Rynu only grunted, making Marina laugh in amusement. He looked over to her and smiled, walking with her through the forest back to the city.

Rynu stood in the doorway to Pheona's room, watching her pick at another tray of food Keisin had brought and left. None of it was eaten- she was just swirling it together into some strange mixed mass.  
"You're going to have to eat that." Rynu said gruffly, making Pheona look up at him with wide eyes.  
They stared at each other for a minute before Pheona tilted her head and took a grape from the tray, throwing it at him.  
Rynu flinched when it bounced off his forehead, wiping the sticky juice from his skin. "What was that for?"  
He flinched as Pheona let out a high pitched squeal and ran over to him, hugging him tightly around the chest and squeezing the air out of him. He smiled down at his cousin and chuckled, patting her back and prying her arms off him.  
"I'm glad to see you too, Phoe." Rynu laughed, looking down at her bright smile.  
"You're here- you're alive- though it looks like barely." She looked him over with a slight frown, but soon her smile returned. "How? When?"  
"Two beetles saved me from the rubble- I'm being serious, wipe that grin off your face." Rynu said defensively as Pheona tried not to laugh.  
"I'm sorry- it's just… big bad Rynu saved by two little bugs." Pheona giggled.  
Rynu sighed in dismay, his shoulders sagging. "I know. Hey- I'm not complaining, though." He brought her back over to her chair, sitting her back down and pointing to the food. "Now eat- you're driving Keisin nuts."  
Pheona looked down at the food with a wrinkled nose. "But it's all mixed up now."  
Rynu groaned in frustration, putting his palm up to his forehead. "Now whose fault is that?"  
Pheona stuck her tongue out at Rynu before starting to eat slowly. Rynu rolled his eyes as he watched his cousin, glad she was back to normal.


	78. Chapter 78 Courting Flames

"Well, I'm glad things have finally calmed down." Keisin sighed in relief, sitting back in a large chair in the gargoyle's main building. Pheona and Marina nodded on either side of him, glancing to Rynu.  
"He still got away, though." Rynu said, looking out the window as if watching for a silhouette of a dragon in the distance.  
"Yeah, but at least his tower is rubble now. He won't be able to bring people back there anymore." Pheona said reassuringly, making Rynu nod and smile softly.  
"That's true. What are you going to do now, Tam?" Rynu looked over at the man, who shrugged.  
"No idea. Maybe open a small shop in a city? I'm not sure." Tam looked thoughtful as he stared at the ground. "I've never really been… able to do what I want."  
"Well, if you need any help just let me know." Pheona smiled.  
Tam looked up at her and smiled as well, making Keisin frown.  
"Anyway- do we have to stay here for long? I think the gargoyles are starting to get anxious with us here- they're not used to humans." Keisin said gruffly.  
"Yeah, we should get going soon… wait, where's Lir and Amalthea?" Pheona looked around the room, not seeing either of them.  
"Ah… um, Lir said they would be back later today." Rynu said, looking uneasy.  
"Why?" Marina asked curiously. "Did they find anything interesting?"  
Rynu looked at her, his face flushing slightly. "Sort of."  
"Oh!" Keisin laughed. "Well then, we'll wait for them to come back before we leave. I think I have enough magic stored to change them both back."  
Pheona chuckled, her cheeks flushing as well. "Well, I'm glad they're enjoying their time as humans at least. I suppose Lir won't be quite as grumpy now."

That night, Pheona walked over to Lir back in his unicorn form. He looked like he was in somewhat of a daze, a wry grin on his face.  
_I believe I could get used to being human once in a while._ He said smugly.  
"Oh Gods, stop. Please. I don't need to hear any more." Pheona laughed in embarrassment and patted his neck.  
Lir whickered with amusement at her reaction and leaned down so that she and Keisin could climb onto his back. He looked over to Amalthea to see Rynu and Marina situated on her and started trotting out of the gargoyle city.  
"Wait!" Sivani ran over to them, panting for breath beside Lir before handing Keisin a large book.  
"Chief Tiko wants you to have this. He said thank you for saving his son from madness- even though he is dead. He rests in peace."  
Keisin took the book and opened it, his eyes widening as he noticed something strange- it was in a woman's handwriting, swirling cursive covering the pages. It had runes in it- so it was obviously a sorcerer's book.  
"Thank you. I'll take good care of it." Keisin smiled and set the book in his bag, the sides bulging from the extra weight.  
_Are we ready now?_ Lir asked, looking back at them.  
"Yeah- we can get going now. Thank you, Sivani. I hope you guys can live a little more peacefully now that the tower is gone." Pheona said to the gargoyle before Lir started trotting forward again, making his way into the jungle with Amalthea close behind.

"There's so much stuff in here- some of this I've never even heard of." Keisin said eagerly as he flipped through the pages of the book, his eyes wide with excitement.  
"I'm glad there's spells you can try. It'll keep you occupied for a while." Pheona chuckled at his eagerness.  
"See, look! There's a spell in here to change something into whatever you want. You could even turn something into gold, I suppose." Keisin smiled.  
"I don't think that's a good idea." Pheona said uneasily.  
"Why? It's gold- it would be real."  
"Yeah but… it seems like cheating." Pheona frowned.  
Keisin thought about it for a minute and nodded. "How about food, then? I could turn a pile of leaves into a fruit."  
"Now _that_ would be useful." Pheona smiled eagerly.  
"I'll have to try it once we get home. It sounds awesome." He said happily, looking down at the book with satisfaction.

Pheona sighed, looking at the setting sun in the distance. They had been traveling for days now- setting up camp every night. They were almost home… she was looking forward to being at Avalon again. She looked up at the trees as they started to look familiar, smiling happily as she realized they were back in the forest where Avalon was.  
_I am glad to be back too- especially after what happened. _Lir said with a sigh. _I do not want to see Amalthea that upset ever again.  
_Pheona leaned forward and patted Lir on the neck reassungly. "Things turned out okay in the end."  
"Yeah, and now I have beetles following me everywhere." Rynu looked up at the two beetles who had settled on his head, nestled and sleeping in his black hair.  
"They're cute." Marina chuckled.  
"Loud as hell, but yeah I guess they're kind of cute in a bug-ish sort of way." Rynu nodded.  
Marina looked up as phoenix danced in the air overhead, their flames swirling together against the dark night sky and lighting up the area around them.  
"I think we're back."  
Pheona looked up as well and smiled as the phoenix chased each other across the sky, occasionally diving playfully around each other. "It's good to be home. Hopefully things will be a little calmer for a while."  
"Hopefully… though I doubt it. Something always manages to happen to make things exciting." Keisin chuckled.  
Pheona sighed yearningly- she had hoped for a little break, but it seemed as if that was too much to ask for.  
Well hopefully when they got back to Avalon she could get some well deserved rest.


	79. Chapter 79 Daddy Bird

Back at Avalon keep, Keisin was trying out a few new spells from his new book. He eagerly opened the pages, which crackled from being kept closed for too many years. He flipped through the pages idly, skimming through spells to see which one he should try next.  
"What do you think- should I just try the tough one right off, or start from easy and progress?" He looked up at Pheona as she sat in a chair across the room, reading Keisin's mother's diary.  
"Go for whatever you'd think is best. Just be careful." Pheona said distractedly, trying to make out the missing letters inside the front cover… something with an L, and a keep… it was starting to drive her nuts.  
"Go for broke it is, then." Keisin grinned. He took out an apple from one of the many pockets inside his robe, placing it on the ground in front of him. He read the book for a moment, concentrating enough not to see Russet look at the apple from behind his leg, chirping quietly before starting to mock-stalk the fruit with determination.  
"Ah, no. I need that- it was hard enough getting just one from Lir. I doubt he'd give me another." Keisin grabbed Russet, who growled loudly in protest as he struggled in Keisin's grip, small red feathers flying to the ground. "Hey- why is he losing feathers?" Keisin looked at the gryphon in concern.  
"He's a hatchling. He's probably losing his downy feathers to get real ones." Pheona explained, still trying to read.  
Keisin looked down at the gryphon in relief and reached behind his hood to set the gryphon snuggly in his hood. "Stay." He said firmly, and then turned back to the book. He looked down at the bottom of the page, noticing some small scrawling letters upside down against the edge of the page. He blinked in confusion for a minute before turning the book upside down to read the text  
'Those who do not know, shall be betrayed.'  
He looked at the sentence in confusion, not knowing the meaning of what it was trying to say. Know what? Was there some trick to the spell he didn't see?  
He turned the page over again to read the text carefully and realized there was indeed a secret to this spell- it was coded!  
Whoever had written this spell book obviously hadn't wanted too many other sorcerers figuring out their secrets. It was written in ancient runes that few would have known of. Luckily for Keisin he had learned a few of them when he was younger. He would have to guess at the rest until he got the spell right. He took off his large robe and brought it over to Pheona, looking down at Russet. "Stay." He said firmly, watching the little gryphon pout before walking back over to the apple with a sigh.  
He raised his hand above the fruit on the ground, looking at the book carefully before scrying the runes in the air, smiling when he had done them perfectly, the golden glow surrounding the letters to tell that the spell had been completed. He watched the apple intently, noticing nothing happen with the fruit until he looked back up at the runes- they were flashing with his own golden power, so much so that he had to squint his eyes when he looked at them.  
"Uh… Keisin?" Pheona looked up at concern, never seeing a spell he had cast do that before. He looked over at her with a shrug before the runes flashed brightly and swirled in the air around him, making him yell in surprise.  
Pheona stood in concern as Keisin started glowing with his own golden magic, yelling loudly as the light flared into a blinding flash.  
Pheona looked up, her ears ringing and her eyes tearing from the pain of the bright light, looking at the place Keisin had been.  
Instead a mass of red feathers and gray fur lay on the floor of the cabin, lying unconscious as the glow continued to fade.  
Pheona stared in shock at what could only be Keisin- but somehow he had turned into a cardinal gryphon…  
Keisin raised his head, looking around in confusion before letting out a long sigh of relief. He looked down at the book on the ground in front of him and reached for it with one of his black scaled talons before freezing when he looked at his new features.  
He stared at his leg for a long time before finally turning his head to look back at the rest of his body, letting out a shocked screech when he saw his red wings and snow-leopard body.  
"Keisin… now, calm down." Pheona walked slowly over to him as his feathers started shaking, a long growling noise escaping his throat. "Keep calm, we can fix this somehow." She insisted, holding her hands out to try and comfort him.  
He let out a terribly scream of terror, shaking furiously as if trying to get the feathers off.

_This can't be happening! NO NO NO! _Keisin screamed as he shook himself, running around the room frantically. He rammed against a wall, flinching in pain as his wing hit the wood but continued to run, his mind racing in panic. He stopped and stared for a minute, his beak open in a loud pant as he tried to think.  
_Think, stupid! How did those transformation spells go?_ He thought to himself before sitting on his back legs and holding his talons out in front of him. He tried to etch the runes in the air in front of him, but realized it was impossible with only four talons. He couldn't cast any of his spells!  
He screeched again, this time falling to the ground and gripping fist-fulls of his own red feathers in frustration. What had gone wrong? What had this happened?  
"It's okay- really! Just calm down, you'll hurt yourself!" Pheona insisted, walking over to him and putting her arms around his neck. He looked down at her and realized he was still shaking with terror, trying to calm himself the best he could.  
"There, see? We'll figure out what happened, and then find a way to turn you back. There must be some way." Pheona walked over to the book and picked it up, looking through the pages in confusion. She turned the page over to see on the back-  
'Only those with the power may right the wrong'  
Pheona looked at the text for a minute, not knowing what it meant… did it mean that only another sorcerer could turn Keisin back?  
But the only other sorcerer Pheona knew of was Isildre- and he sure as hell wasn't going to help. He would sooner kill them than help Keisin.  
"We need to find another sorcerer." Pheona sighed in frustration. "He can turn you back to normal. Until then, you just have to keep calm."  
Keisin nodded, still shaking in shock as he looked down at himself- he was still the same height as he was before, just now in a more feathery form. He let out a long trill of dismay, surprising himself at such a strange noise coming from him.  
Russet popped his head out of the robe, looking at him with wide green eyes. Keisin stared back at the hatchling, which trilled happily and ran over to him, sniffing him before standing on his back legs, his small red wings flapping with excitement.  
_Daddy!_


	80. Chapter 80 Heartbreaker

Keisin stared down at Russet in shock, his blue eyes wide. _You can talk?  
Of course, silly daddy. _Russet chirped. _  
I'm not your daddy._ Keisin said defensively, feeling odd at being called a father by anything- none the less a gryphon.  
_But you take care of me and protect me… you love me, don't you? _Russet drooped, his eyes widening pleadingly up at him.  
Keisin looked away from such a cute sight and sighed in frustration. _Yes.  
Then you're my daddy! _Russet said, hugging Keisin's leg.  
"Oh, that's adorable." Pheona said happily at the sight.  
_Get him off! _Keisin raised his leg, Russet hanging from the black talons in a death-grip embrace.  
"Oh don't be such a fuddy-duddy." Pheona rolled her eyes. "Look how happy he is. How can you resist that?"  
Keisin looked up at her with an expression of frustration, making her laugh in amusement.  
"Alright tough guy. We should probably go to Synara first- I can ask some friends of mine if they know of any sorcerers. We can always stop by and see Conintor while we're there, he's probably wondering how we're doing."  
Keisin murred in agreement, blinking in surprise again at the noises he was making. He walked over to the book and put a talon on it, struggling to pick it up with claws before growling in frustration.  
"Don't scratch it, silly." Pheona laughed and picked the book up for him. "We'll bring it with us, don't worry."  
Keisin nodded as they walked outside, Russet still clinging to one of Keisin's front talons. They walked through the forest until they came upon the unicorn herd, the frost and earth unicorns looking up at Pheona before staring at Keisin in interest.  
_Oi, who's this lot, then? _A strange voice ran through Keisin's head as a large frost unicorn came out of the crowd, looking at the gryphon indignantly. He looked different from the other unicorns- somehow he was less well kept, his coat not having as much sheen to it- he also had a large scar across his left cheek.  
_You must be Thiazi from earlier. _Keisin said, looking at the unicorn.  
_So you know me, then. Still doesn't tell me who YOU are though. _Thiazi snorted.  
_I'm Keisin. I was… turned into this._ Keisin looked down at himself.  
Thiazi stared at him for a minute, his blue eyes narrowing in suspicion. _Aye, and if that's true then you know where I got this scar, then._ One of the female earth unicorns behind him whinnied at the mention of the scar, making Thiazi roll his eyes in exasperation.  
_Someone tried to kill you while you walked through the forest. Someone who had killed the guardian._  
Thiazi watched Keisin for a minute before whinnying with laughter. _So big bad sorcerer got turned into a cute and fluffy gryphon then, eh? I'm bettin' you're looking for a way to turn back.  
Yes. _Keisin snorted at the teasing. _As soon as possible._  
_Oi, I'm sure. Don't like walking on those fancy front hands of yours, hmm?  
_"You seem to be getting along." Pheona smiled to Thiazi. The frost unicorn looked at her and bowed his head. "Do you happen to know where Centurion is, Thiazi?"  
Thiazi motioned his head to the left, where one of the earth unicorn females was talking with the centaur.  
"Stay here, Keisin. I'll be right back." Pheona said, before walking over to the centaur.  
"He may not be interested in taking a mate, Cleo. Why not be mates with one of the other males?" Centurion said in frustration as the unicorn snorted and trotted off indignantly.  
"Having trouble in the herd?" Pheona watched the unicorn trot over to a crowd of females, who were all talking with each other.  
"That Thiazi is a heartbreaker." Centurion sighed. "That's the fourth female he's denied. Just because of that scar, apparently it makes him more attractive." He put a hand up to his face in frustration. "What did you need then, Phe?" He looked up at her curiously.  
"Do you know where Lir and Amalthea are? I'm hoping he can take us to Synara."  
"Ah. Um… I'm afraid they'll probably be busy for a while." Centurion grinned in amusement. "Ever since you came back, they have both been quite… frisky."  
Pheona blushed and nodded. "You don't think Amalthea will have a foal, do you?" She already had a kirin to take care of… a hatchling unicorn from a dark and light unicorn? Her head would explode with worry!  
"I doubt it. The more magic a creature has, the harder it is for them to breed offspring. If the Gods deem them worthy they may, but not otherwise."  
Pheona didn't want to show the relief she felt. "Well, we'll have to find someone else to take us to Synara." She said thoughtfully.  
"Take Thiazi- I'm sure he'd love a break from the swooning mares." Centurion grinned in amusement.  
Pheona chuckled. "Good idea. Alright- we'll head out as soon as I get supplies together. I don't know when we'll be back… do you think you two will be okay?" She asked, looking over to Alabast, who was tending to the kirin egg.  
"I'm sure we will be fine, Pheona. If the kirin hatches while you're gone, we will go through the proper steps."  
Pheona nodded. "Thanks Centurion. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."  
Centurion smiled warmly. "You'd be a complete mess of worry."  
Pheona laughed at that- he was probably right. She walked back over to Thiazi and Keisin, patting the frost unicorn on the neck. "Thiazi, do you think you could do me a favor and take me to Synara?"  
Thiazi looked at her and nodded confidently.  
_Looks like we're going to find you a way to get human again. Sure you don't want to be feathery?_ Thiazi murred at Keisin in amusement.  
Keisin glared at the unicorn and followed Pheona as she walked into a different part of the forest to get ready for the trip.


	81. Chapter 81 Up North

Pheona looked down at Keisin as they rode to Synara, Thiazi keeping a steady gallop as Keisin struggled to keep up as Russet rode between his wings.  
"Might want to slow down a bit, please." Pheona whispered to the unicorn so Keisin wouldn't hear. Thiazi just snorted and slowed down slightly, looking back at Keisin panting with effort.  
_What a wuss. Can't even run a few dozen miles._ Thiazi laughed at him, tossing his head before picking up the pace again.  
They soon arrived at Synara, riding into Conintor's stables.  
"You guys stay here- I'm going to chat with Conintor really quick and see if he knows any sorcerers, or anyone who might know." Pheona said, looking to Thiazi and Keisin.  
Thiazi nodded and looked around the stables uneasily, remembering when he had been attacked and brought here.  
_Oh, it's nice to see your handsome face back here again._ A female voice said from behind Keisin, making him turn around in confusion. He saw Conintor's female elk looking at Thiazi with interest.  
_Oi, not you again._ Thiazi rolled his eyes in frustration.  
_Now that's not very nice._ Saiga pouted. _And who is this new fellow? _She looked down at Keisin from within her stall.  
_He's a human. I wouldn't try anything._ Thiazi said, making Keisin glance to him in confusion.  
_Hmmm. Human or not, he's pretty cute. Look at all those soft red feathers. _Saiga shivered at the thought, shaking her head  
_Wait… do you mean that all creatures can talk? Every single one of them?_ Keisin gasped in shock.  
_Not very bright, is he?_ Saiga looked over to Thiazi with a frustrated expression.  
_Daddy does not know creatures like magi. He is special. _Russet said angrily, not liking Saiga insulting Keisin.  
_He's right. I've never been around creatures before meeting Pheona. It is… strange. I thought you were all animals. Smart ones yes, but… I didn't know you talked._ Keisin said, trying to wrap his mind around the concept.  
Every creature he had seen with a magi… every single one was intelligent enough to talk if it was able to? Gods- the thought boggled his mind!  
_Well we are definitely not dumb animals._ Thiazi said with a snort. _I'd say this is a good lesson for you, sorcerer._  
Keisin looked over his shoulder at Russet, who chirped at him happily. _Yeah, I guess so._ Keisin finally muttered.  
They looked up when Pheona walked back into the room, Conintor behind her and Novilo close behind.  
"Oh, he's a pretty gryphon, though." Novilo said with a chuckle to Keisin.  
"Now Novi, be nice to the lad. He's probably pretty frustrated."  
_You have no idea._ Keisin muttered, making Thiazi whicker softly in laughter.  
"So neither of you know any sorcerers?" Pheona said, walking over to Keisin and setting a hand on his side reassuringly. He was a massive gryphon- nearly as tall as Thiazi.  
"I'm afraid not, Spark. You might want to ask Tam though- Rynu is helping him set up a shop down the road. He's been meeting plenty of people in the last week."  
Pheona nodded, looking over to Keisin and Thiazi. "You two ready to head out?"  
_So soon?_ Saiba pouted. Conintor glanced to the elk and smiled at her pout, walking over and petting her gently.  
"I know you like company, but Keisin doesn't have much time. They'll be back." He said reassuringly to the elk, who glanced to Keisin in confusion.  
_Not much time? What does he mean by that? _Keisin said in panic, looking to Pheona with wide eyes.  
"Oh. You must not know too much about shifting magic. Conintor learned in his lessons that if you transform into a creature, the longer you're in that form, the stronger the 'creature' in you gets. If we wait too long, you won't want to turn back human. You'll forget yourself and be a gryphon forever."  
Keisin stared at her for a minute before letting out a long horrified screech, the humans holding their hands over their ears at the painful sound. _I can't stay in this form forever! I can't use my magic- I can't do anything! _He said in panic, his eyes wide.  
_Calm down. We'll figure something out._ Thiazi rolled his eyes.  
_Is it so bad being like me?_ Russet pouted against Keisin's back. Keisin looked over his shoulder at the hatchling and sighed. _No, but I like being able to use my magic. What if that Isildre comes back? I won't be able to do anything other than scratch him a few times before he blasts me.  
_Russet tilted his head in confusion. _Isildre? What's that?  
A sorcerer- a very bad sorcerer. I don't want you going near him.  
_Russet blinked a bit in confusion before nodding. _Show me what he looks like and I will stay away, daddy.  
_Keisin glanced back at the hatchling and smiled.  
"We'll go see if Rynu's there. If he's not he's probably with Marina at Inasi keep." Pheona chuckled in amusement at the thought. Ever since they had gotten back from the jungle, those two had been very close- but Rynu was still his usual awkward self.  
"Alright, thanks Con." Pheona smiled back at the two men, who waved as she left the stables, Keisin and Thiazi following behind her.

"Oh- Rynu left yesterday. Seemed pretty happy about something, too." Tam grinned in amusement. "Never thought I'd see that kid go so head-over-heels for a girl, but I'm glad."  
Pheona chuckled, amused by it as well. "Well, I'll ask you then- have you heard of any sorcerers around here at all? I'm sure you've heard the normal street gossip around." Pheona smiled- street gossip always carried news faster than most messages. You could learn some useful things it you knew what to listen for.  
Tam thought for a minute, moving his red hair out of his eyes. "Come to think of it, yeah. Some girl came by earlier to look at some eggs I brought form the jungle. She bought two mist stalkers- my first sale. She had a man with her, looked odd. They were talking about some rock or stone or something. He had an amulet, though." He said, pointing to the golden amulet that was around Keisin's neck still.  
_That's a sorcerer! Where is he?_ Keisin said hopefully, but realized that Tam couldn't hear him. He growled in frustration and knocked Pheona a bit to get her to ask.  
"Be patient." She chuckled. "That sounds a lot like Red. Do you know where they went?"  
"They mentioned going to Arkene." Tam shrugged.  
Pheona sighed in frustration. They would have to go back to Avalon to get the proper clothing to go north, then.  
"Thanks Tam. Good luck with your shop." Pheona smiled to the man before turning back around.  
"We need to go back to Avalon real quick to get my winter clothing, and your robe. We'll have to pack it until you turn human again."  
Keisin nodded, Thiazi trotting in front of her so she could climb on. Pheona mounted him and they rode back toward Avalon to pack to leave.


	82. Chapter 82 Tooth and Claw

Pheona looked over at Keisin as Prism sat on her shoulder, his glass-like wings reflecting rainbows against her cheek.  
_We are going to Arkene, then?_ The butterfly whispered, his wings fanning gently.  
"Yep. Hopefully we'll be able to find Red and the sorcerer quickly. Keisin's getting pretty nervous from what Conintor told him." She looked beside her at Keisin as he ran beside Thiazi, panting from the effort of running for so long. Russet was sitting on his head, feeling the breeze go by as they ran.  
_I could understand that. No human or creature would want to be trapped in a form not their own. How did he get into that form in the first place?  
_"He was trying some spell that backfired I think, he was changed into a cardinal gryphon for some reason."  
_Ah, I see…_Prism paused for a minute, his wings folded together gently. _That is powerful magic from another sorcerer, to turn one into their inner being. He must have magi blood, correct?  
_Pheona glanced down at Prism in surprise. "Inner being? Yeah- he has magi blood- his mother was a magi."  
_I am guessing she was from some northern region. Before my former magi died, he was researching inner beings in magi. Transformation magic is very powerful- few magi can manage to do it, in fact. When magi first started to meld their magic with that of their creatures, they also absorbed some of the creature's magics. That is what creates the inner being of a magi.  
_"Wait… so every magi has an inner creature they turn into?" Pheona said, blinking on shock.  
_Correct. Most magi do not realize this, for most do not have experience with transformation magic. You have had an… unusual amount of exposure to it.  
_Pheona chuckled, nodding. "Must be- I've seen Rynu, Lir, Amalthea and now Keisin transform. Rynu was for the longest- about a week."  
Keisin looked up at her between his strides, letting out a low twitter of question. Pheona looked over at him, wondering what he was asking.  
_Ah, he would like to know how long he has until he starts losing himself to the gryphon. A good question- it is up to how strong your will is, but I would suppose… you will start to acquire features of your creature in about a week, and be lost in two months.  
_"A week?" Pheona blinked in surprise. "But Rynu was a tienko for a week- and he didn't have anything happen to him."  
Prism looked at her, his wings fluttering quickly in amusement. _You obviously did not catch him in your herb garden. I will bet he still has some of that nip with him._  
Pheona burst out laughing, imagining Rynu snorting the smell of cat nip and sighing in happiness. "He better be careful with it. No, I didn't catch him." Pheona said, looking over to Keisin as he squawked with laughter as well.  
"Well, a month should be plenty of time to find that sorcerer. There's no need to worry." She said, looking over to Keisin who let out a deep sigh of relief.

Pheona hopped off Thiazi as the unicorn murred loudly, shaking his mane as they stopped to rest for the night.  
"You feeling okay?" She walked over to Keisin, who was still panting for breath from the run. She hugged him around the neck, listening to the long purr that sounded from him and laughed in amusement. She looked down at herself, cringing in disgust at the dirt and grime that covered her arms and front. Riding through the muddy swamp and stream shore that separated Synara from Arkene had made her filthy. She looked around, hoping there was some sort of creek nearby.  
_I will go find one for you._ Prism said, noticing her expression. He fluttered off her shoulder, flying into the sky to find a place for Pheona to wash.  
"Alright, I need to wash up. I feel nasty." Pheona laughed as some of the mud from her arms stuck in his feathers. "Maybe you should too, after me."  
Keisin nodded, sitting down as Russet slid off his head onto the ground. Pheona patted the hatchling on the head, who looked just as tired as Keisin was.  
_I have found a spot for you- it is north of here. _Prism returned, settling down on her shoulder again.  
"Alright you guys, I'll be back, okay?" Pheona said to the males, who all nodded as they laid on the ground to try and relax.

Pheona looked at the small waterfall in the creek with glee, the flowers that grew around it making the scene all the more beautiful. "It's amazing Prism, thank you!" Pheona said gratefully to the butterfly, who fluttered off her shoulder to land on a small branch.  
_It is no problem. Be careful of this place though, we are near the stream and many creatures reside here.  
_Pheona nodded and slipped out of her fur-lined red and golden traveling robes, leaving on her undergarments, shivering in the cold for a moment before heating herself up. She looked in the water and noticed no fish, so she held a hand over the surface to warm it slightly so it wasn't chill before she stepped in with a long sigh of relief.  
She waded into the stream up to her nose, blowing bubbles out for a minute before dipping down to rinse her hair. She came above the surface, hearing a muffled cry from above.  
_Pheona, look out! _Prism fluttered above her as two large eyes peered from the shadows of a bush on the other side of the stream. Pheona gasped and backed up, the water resisting her movement so that she was slower than she should have been. A large azure liyan came growling out of the bush, fangs bared to Pheona in anger.  
_You have gone into its territory- I am sorry, I did not know it was there! _ Prism said in panic, dancing in the air above her frantically.  
Pheona rushed out of the water, hoping to grab for her clothes before the liyan got to her.  
She looked over her shoulder as the large female liyan roared loudly and bounded across the stream toward her, catching up quickly. Pheona only managed to grab her robes before the liyan caught her by the shoulders, growling loudly as it pinned her to the ground.  
Pheona stared up at the liyan with wide red eyes, frozen in fear as saliva from the liyan's open mouth dripped onto her cheek. She made her skin burning hot to get the liyan off her, which cried out in pain as its paws were burned. She scrambled back until she ran into a tree, her robes clutched to her front in a meager defense as the liyan lunched toward her again, swiping her across the shoulder with its large claws and making her scream in pain.

Keisin looked up as his large ears perked at the sound of a scream in the distance. He jumped to his feet as his ears perked forward to find where the sound was coming from. It had to be Pheona- she sounded terrified…  
He pinpointed the noise and burst into a hard run in that direction, ignoring Thiazi and Russet's sounds of question.

Pheona let loose a burst of flames to keep the liyan away, holding her shoulder in pain as it bled, her eyes stinging in tears. Why wouldn't it leave her alone?  
She looked up in surprise as a large red blur knocked the liyan into the stream, tumbling along with it in a loud growling fight of tooth and claw. She watched Keisin fight against the liyan, her red eyes wide in panic as the liyan tore feathers from his front in anger, spitting them out to take another bite. Keisin let out a loud roar and swung a powerful paw toward the liyan's mane, shattering some of the shards around its neck and making the liyan cry out in pain. Pheona stood and clutched her clothes to her as she watched Keisin, who looked at her with desperate blue eyes.  
_Run!_ He screamed in his mind to her, hoping she would hear him. He growled in anger as she stood there and watched, turning toward her and letting out a loud roar to get her moving.  
Pheona jumped at Keisin's roar as he continued fighting the liyan, deciding to take a run for it- she started sprinting in a random direction, the cold air biting at her skin as she ran. She heard another angry roar from behind her and a loud splash, looking over her shoulder to see the liyan running toward her. Prism fluttered in front of her, latching onto her hair as she ran, looking ahead and fluttering his wings in panic.  
_Watch it! Stop!_ Prism yelled in Pheona's mind, making her skid to a stop at the edge of a tall cliff. She looked over the edge with wide eyes, seeing nothing but jagged rocks below. She looked behind her as the liyan skidded to a halt behind her, unable to stop in time. She let out a yell as the liyan knocked her off the side of the cliff, sending her tumbling through the air toward the ground.  
Keisin let out a loud roar of protest and jumped over the side of the cliff after her.  
He tumbled through the air, panic gripping him for a minute as he flailed his legs and wings against the air. Something inside him clicked and he looked down at Pheona as she screamed in terror below, folding his wings against his sides so that he fell faster until he was below Pheona. He grabbed her in his powerful front arms, unfurling his enormous wings so that the air currents from the cliff rose them upwards. He flapped his wings to carry them above the cliff, growling down at the liyan below as it watched them fly overhead.  
Keisin looked down at Pheona as she cried into the feathers of his chest, still clutching her clothes to her. He landed them a distance away from the liyan, letting her sit on the ground as she shook. He nudged her in concern as she stared ahead, still shaking with terror at falling through the sky. She looked up at him and hugged him around the neck, burying her face in his feathers.  
"Thank you. So much." She whispered.  
Keisin let out a low twitter, patting her back gently with one of his large paws. He looked down at her for the first time and blushed, looking away quickly.  
Pheona looked down at herself and blushed as well, quickly putting on her robes again.  
"I hope the rest of our trip isn't quite so eventful." Pheona said, her voice shaking before she attempted to untangle Prism from her hair.  
_Indeed. There is never a dull moment with you, Pheona._ The butterfly said, his voice hitched in emotion as well.


	83. Chapter 83 Arkene

Keisin stayed near Pheona as they walked into Arkene, still on edge after the incident with the Liyan. They had traveled for nearly a week now, the harsh winds making Pheona's cheeks red as she rode on Thiazi, the unicorn trotting easily through the snow as Keisin struggled to keep up beside him.

_I have a bad feeling about something. Be wary._ Thiazi said with a loud snort, looking down at Keisin.

_I doubt it's anything. The last time we were at Arkene things were relatively calm._ Keisin glanced back up to the unicorn, who rolled his eyes. Keisin ignored his reaction and continued walking, looking up at Pheona as she rubbed her upper chest again. The scratch must still be bothering her.

Thiazi noticed the action as well and murred loudly in protest, wondering if he should heal her more or not. _It is frustrating now being able to talk to her._ The frost unicorn whinnied loudly in frustration.

_You're telling me._ Keisin said sarcastically, glancing between his wings to see Russet sleeping on his back soundly. He smiled softly and continued to look forward, looking up at Pheona when she sighed.

"Sorry guys. We're almost there, then we can take a break." She said, figuring Thiazi and Keisin were complaining about walking for so long. They had been traveling for most of the day, not stopping for anything but a quick meal when Prism found a bush of ripe berries along the outskirts of the forest.

Keisin let out a low twitter of protest, looking up at his mate with concern. He shook his head as it went fuzzy for a moment, focusing on the snow at his feet for a moment as he collected his thoughts. That was happening more often lately… but he didn't want Pheona to know. Somehow he had lost a bit of himself that he shouldn't have- the gryphon was taking over quicker than he thought it would be.

He looked up at the white towers in front of him, sighing with relief at the sight of Arkene in the distance. They were almost there… they would find the sorcerer that was traveling with Pheona's friend, and things would finally get back to normal. He was tired of feathers.

"Alright, now all we have to do is find Red." Pheona looked around Arkene with her hands on her hips in determination. Keisin murred beside her, looking around him with eager eyes. He had to be around here somewhere…

_Daddy is looking for someone?_ Russet sat on Keisin's head, leaning over so that the only thing in Keisin's view was Russet's head, the hatchling's red crest raised in excitement.

_We're searching for a sorcerer who will turn daddy back to normal._ Keisin said, still twinging a bit at calling himself the 'daddy' of a hatchling gryphon. It felt odd for some reason. _He will be someone who wears a stone like this around his neck._ Keisin pointed a talon at the stone that hung around his neck, which rested against the thick feathers of his chest.

_Russet will help!_ Russet jumped off Keisin's head into the snow, letting out a squawk of surprise when he fell into the snow up to his ears. He twittered in protest as he struggled in the knee-deep snow drift, Keisin chortling with laughter before scooping the hatchling out of the snow and setting him back onto the space between his wings. _Maybe you should just look from back there. You're still just a little guy, so I don't want you to get lost in a snow drift somewhere._

Russet pouted, but sat down on Keisin's back, looking around with perked ears for someone matching Keisin's description.

"She should be around here somewhere…" Pheona looked around uneasily, her steps dragging as she searched. Keisin let out a low growl of protest, trotting over and standing in front of her to block her path, looking down at her sternly.

"What?" Pheona looked at him in surprise. He motioned toward the inn down the street, his blue eyes concerned as he looked down at her.

"Oh. I'm fine- I want to find them as soon as possible so you don't get any worse. I can see you get frustrated sometimes lately, I figured it would be better if we got you back to normal as soon as we can." She looked up at the gryphon as he stood in front of her, his red feathers waving slightly in the cold wind.

Keisin snorted loudly in disagreement, pointing toward the inn again. She was dragging herself forward for him… he felt guilty about not noticing it earlier, instead of when she was obviously suffering from lack of sleep.

"Fine." Pheona sighed, hardly able to argue when she felt so exhausted. "One more day won't hurt right?" She looked up at him, smiling softly when he nodded. He moved forward, pushing her gently toward the in with his snout, making her laugh in amusement. "Fine, fine. Mr. Bossy…" Pheona looked back at him with a wry smile, her grin widening when he saw the amusement in his eyes as well.

"Everything is in order. All that needs doing now is to implement it." Isildre smiled as he looked out the window of the white tower, glancing to the street below.

"How will I know who he is? There are a lot of blond haired blue eyed people around here." A man with red hair glanced out the window as well, the gnarled burn scars on his face casting an ugly shadow against his otherwise smooth skin.

"He will be obvious. He will be a man with a pale blue furred robe, and a blue stone pendant. You will be able to easily spot him, Cain." Isildre looked over at the man, his black eyes hard as frustration filled them.

Cain grumbled for a moment in annoyance, looking at the ale in his hands as he thought. He was glad he had found this man- though he seemed like he was hiding more secrets from him than telling him the truth. That didn't matter though- as long as he got Pheona back, and made her pay for leaving him scarred and alone, he would be willing to deal with anything else that happened.

"Do you realize what you must do?" Isildre looked at the man with a deep frown. He flipped the black hood of his robe over his salt-and-pepper colored hair.

"Yes, yes." Cain said impatiently. "I'll get him alone and get something from him. Just leave it to me, I'll handle it." He looked at the older man in frustration. He didn't know why Isildre had suddenly looked years older when he had met him again, but he really didn't want to know.

"Good. I will see you in a few days, then." Isildre tied his robe tightly around his neck, looking out the window again with interest at a creature's sound in the distance. "I have some business to attend to."

Cain watched the man leave, the amarth alagos that always followed him letting out a taunting 'kaww' before flying after the sorcerer out of the door, perching on his shoulder as he walked down the stairs.


	84. Chapter 84 Stranger in the Snow

Keisin woke up to something bouncing on his stomach, making him grunt in pain as he looked down. He saw Russet jumping on him, chirping loudly.  
_Daddy daddy- there's something strange outside, come look!_ Russet trilled.  
_Shush!_ Keisin said harshly, looking down to Pheona to see her still sleeping on the bed in the inn. He got up and walked over to the window, glancing down at Russet as the hatchling stood on its hind legs to look out as well.  
_See? Something strange has been standing outside all night!_ Russet pointed a talon at the figure standing in the soft snow falling outside. Keisin looked down at it, wondering what it was- he had never seen anything like it. It looked to be some sort of strange white deer standing in the snow- but with some sort of long tale.  
It looked up at him with deep blue eyes, making Keisin freeze as he locked gazes with the creature for a moment. It stared and then turned away, running through the snow to the north.  
_What was that?_ Keisin wondered, looking back over to Pheona. She would probably know, but it was too early to wake her up- she needed all the sleep she could get.  
He scooped Russet up in one of his arms, setting the hatchling on his back as he walked over to the other side of the room again.  
_Now keep quiet- I want Pheona to sleep and get better, okay? _ He looked down at Russet to make sure the hatchling understood. Russet looked over to Pheona, tilting his head. _Daddy- is that your mate? _ He said, looking back to Keisin.  
Keisin sputtered, thinking what a strange word that was for his relationship with Pheona. _Technically, yes._  
Russet looked over at Pheona and nodded, silently curling up against Keisin's thick feathers. _Good night._  
Keisin looked down at the hatchling and sighed, wondering what the strange emotion he was feeling toward the hatchling was. _Good night. _

"Oh no, I slept too long!" Pheona looked out the window, noticing the bright sun high on the horizon. She looked over to Keisin and Russet, both of which were sitting at the end of her bed patiently. "Why did you let me sleep for so long?"  
All she got in response was a frustrated look from Keisin, followed by a low trill. She thought for a minute about what had happened yesterday and sighed, knowing he had wanted her to sleep as much as she could.  
"Well, we're going to find Red and her friend today- come on, let's get going!" Pheona stood up, putting her winter robes over her thin white under shirt and shorts. She was putting her fur-lined books on when Keisin walked over, watching her as if trying to say something.  
"What?" She looked up at him curiously.  
He made a low growl and huffed in frustration before looking away in embarrassment. Pheona sighed, knowing it must be terrible for him not to be able to talk to her. "You can tell me when you turn back to human, okay?"  
Keisin looked back to her and nodded, glancing down at Russet as he jumped onto the bed and sat in front of Pheona. He tilted his head at her, letting out a high trill.  
"Good morning to you too." Pheona chuckled at the hatchling's cuteness and patted him on the head before continuing putting her boot on. Russet glanced back at Keisin with a wry grin, jumping off the bed and sitting next to him smugly. He looked up at the larger gryphon's suspicious expression and laughed in short chirps.

They walked into Arkene, looking around the white gleaming city for any sign of Red, Thiazi on one side of Pheona, and Keisin walking on the other.  
"She should be pretty obvious with all these blond people around." Pheona looked around at the crowd in the streets, almost everyone having blond hair and blue eyes- it made her feel out of place with her black hair and tan skin. "She has bright red hair… but I still don't see them."  
Keisin looked up thoughtfully for a minute before grabbing Russet from his back and setting him on the ground. He raised a single talon to Pheona to signal 'just a minute' and backed up, spreading his large red wings. He took a long sprint and jumped into the air, flapping his wings wildly to get up higher, struggling to remember how he had flown before. He started tumbling with an ungraceful squawk and corrected himself as something else took over. He flew up higher, pumping his wings as he glided around on a current to look at the city from above. He looked down as he flew, noticing many blond haired people, a few with black and brown hair as well…  
Then he saw the bright red dot far below, followed by someone else as they walked through the northern part of the city. He trilled happily and glided down to land beside Pheona, landing and pointing toward the north eagerly.  
"You saw her?" Pheona smiled happily, turning to Thiazi and climbing onto the unicorn's back to follow Keisin. She scooped Russet up as she rode by, setting the hatchling on Thiazi's back in front of her as Keisin ran through the streets to find Red.

Keisin saw the red haired woman up ahead, letting out a loud trill of excitement. He would be turned human again- he could talk with Pheona again, and walk on his own two damn legs again! The man behind Red turned around and looked at him in surprise, waving a hand and sending a large wall of ice to rise between him and Keisin. Keisin squawked loudly in shock and skidded to a stop in front of the wall, looking at it with frustration.  
"Oh you big oaf, he wasn't attacking or anything!" Red scolded the man as the ice wall fell.  
"How was I to know that? He was running toward us- he's a big gryphon and-" The man rubbed his head as if it hurt, looking down at Red in frustration.  
"Red!" Pheona shouted as she caught up with Keisin. Red looked up at her and smiled brightly.  
"Pheona! What are you doing this far north- and with a gryphon?" Red looked down at the gryphon in surprise. "Usually you're more of a unicorn girl, aren't you?"  
"Ah, see that's the thing…" Pheona said uneasily. "That's not really a gryphon." She said, dismounting from Thiazi and walking over to Keisin. "This is a sorcerer."  
"Oh?" The man behind Red said in interest. He moved his white hair from over his eye to get a better look.  
"Yeah- " Pheona rummaged around in the sack at her side, pulling out the small book. "He was trying a spell from this book and got turned into a gryphon instead. I heard you had a sorcerer with you too?" Pheona looked at the tall man beside Red, who was eyeing the book with interest.  
"Yeah-this is Nikko. He's my…" She looked up thoughtfully. "Traveling companion."  
"Oh now babe, that's harsh." Nikko pouted. He looked down at Keisin and grinned wryly. "Tried a spell that was a little more than you could handle, eh, kid?"  
Keisin looked down in embarrassment, but nodded.  
"We've all done it a few times. Here- what spell was he trying to cast?" Nikko asked, looking at the book in Pheona's hands. She opened it and let Keisin go through it with his talon until he got to the page he had been looking at with the strange runes. She handed it to Nikko, who looked down at it in interest.  
"Oh boy, you don't mess around when you're trying something new, do you kid?" Nikko eyed Keisin with amusement.  
Keisin shrugged, hoping Nikko would hurry up- it had already been a few weeks- he didn't know how much longer he would last.  
"This may take me a few hours to translate. These are ancient runes, and I have a book that will help- but it will still take quite some time."  
"Why don't we go back to the inn and chat, then? The sorcerers can do their weird magic stuff while we're gone." Red said to Pheona with a grin.  
"Good idea- maybe you can heal something for me, too." Pheona said, rubbing the scabbed over claw marks on her chest.  
Keisin looked over to her and nodded quickly in agreement. He turned to Russet and let out a soft growl, the hatchling trilling before walking over to Pheona and looking up at her patiently.  
"I guess we have a little buddy to come with us." Pheona chuckled, picking up the hatchling and holding her in her arms as she followed Red to the inn.  
"Alright- now that the magi are gone, we can get started on translating." Nikko said, looking down at the book. "I have a feeling you want to be back to human as soon as possible, right?"  
Keisin walked over to look at the book, sighing when he saw the number of runes they had to translate. He sat down and nodded, hoping to get this done as soon as possible.


	85. Chapter 85 Torment

He stared down at his reflection in the basin of water, the young man staring back at him with haunted dark eyes. How he wished for the time when he had truly been this age. The memory of a woman's touch against his skin, the warmth of love filling him…

Now all was empty and cold.

He struck the water angrily with his hand, his reflection lost in turbulence as the water rippled in reaction.

They had taken her- and no one had bothered to stop them! Not one magi with their precious creatures, not one paladin with their noble deeds. They had forsaken him when he had gone to them for help- and her death was as much their fault as the ones that had killed her.

Rage rose in him at the thought- the same rage that had consumed his soul. He had to live to get his revenge- but it was taking more and more magic to keep him alive. Damn that Keisin for sapping his store of magic- it had taken years to accumulate it!  
Though… he had been shocked when he had seen the sorcerer's woman- those red eyes…

Eyes that reminded him of the same shade she had all those years ago. Why did she have to have those damn red eyes? Seeing them filled with terror had almost torn him apart- she was a weakness in him. She was an unbidden memory in a world of betrayal. He would have to get rid of her- and quickly.

He just hoped that idiot man would be able to control himself. Why he had thought it was a good idea to partner with that buffoon was beyond him- he was more burden than help.

Though if this plan worked, he would have enough stored magic that his revenge would finally be at hand. Decades of despair would be avenged, and she could finally be at peace in her death.

He stood and grabbed the bloody sack from earlier, throwing it out the window of the small room carelessly, to fall to the street below. He leaned out the window to look at the sack on the ground far below with a pleasant smile. Who knew such small creatures would contain so much magic?

He chuckled in amusement at the Gods' sense of humor and grabbed his black robes off the side of a chair, letting his amarth alagos fly up onto his arm to perch as he walked out of the small inn room.

Pheona walked with Red through the streets, sighing with relief that her wound had been healed. "Thanks again, Red- it feels so much better."

"No problem ,you should have said something sooner- scratches like that can get infected easily." The red haired woman grinned over at her. "How about we look through the market before we go back to the guys? Nikko did say it would take a few hours for him to translate those scribbles in that book."

Pheona smiled eagerly- she hadn't been shopping in months! "Sounds great! Good thing I brought some extra gold with me."

"You always have extra gold with you." Red snickered teasingly, turning through the street to take a shortcut to the market.

"So why are you guys here? You're usually not this far up north." Pheona looked over to Red curiously.

"We're on a bit of a mission ourselves. Hopefully it won't take that long to find the stone though." Red sighed in frustration. "We've already been looking for a while."

"Well maybe we can-" Pheona stopped, looking around curiously as she heard a faint noise. Russet perked up as he walked beside her, looking around as well. "Did you hear that?"

"No." Red looked around curiously. "Is it something bad?"

"No, just something… small." Pheona said thoughtfully as she listened again, a faint chirping coming from the next street.

"Oh! I heard it that time- it's over here." Red ran over to the street, looking around in confusion when she saw nothing. Pheona caught up behind her, looking around as well and spotted a large sack lying on the ground. They stood silently for a minute before the chirping started again, obviously coming from the sack.

Pheona and Red both ran over to the sack, Pheona opening it and immediately closing it as her face blanched.

"What- what is it?" Red asked in concern at the horror on Pheona's face.

"They're... they're…" She stammered, not quite able to talk yet. Red took the bag's opening from her to look inside herself and saw immediately why Pheona was so shocked.

Inside the bag lay dozens of pygmy phoenix, their flames gone as they stacked one on top of another inside the bag. It was obvious they were somehow dead- though she didn't know how they could be. Usually phoenix just rebirthed themselves when they died- how were these pygmy phoenix killed? They were all thin- their small ribs sticking out against their short down feathers so that they looked starved.  
Pheona heard the chirping again and grabbed the sack, hesitating a bit before sticking her hand into the piles of pygmy phoenix corpses to search for what was making the noise. She felt the warmth of something alive and cupped it carefully in her hand, bringing out a small tan phoenix.

"Oh Gods, the poor thing." Red said sadly as the phoenix sat in Pheona's hand, looking up at them with large black eyes. She held a hand over the phoenix, her magic glowing around the creature until she frowned thoughtfully. "I healed it all I can- but it still seems to be sick for some reason."

Pheona looked down at the small creature, a mixture of sadness and anger welling up in her at whoever could have done this to something so innocent- though she had a good idea who could have…

"We have to get back to Keisin and Nikko, Red. Sorry- but I'm going to have to shop with you some other time." She said in determination, holding the small phoenix against her chest carefully.

"That's fine- let's get going." Red nodded, glancing down at the sack before standing and running out of the alley with Pheona to get back to the men.

"Ah, I think this is it." Nikko grinned in satisfaction down at the translation of the ancient runes into modern runes, holding up his hand to start the spell. "Ready, kid?"

Keisin stepped back from him, nodding eagerly- he would finally be able to be normal again!

Nikko traced a number of runes in the air, light blue magic burning behind his fingers as he concentrated. He finished and the runes flashed brightly before traveling over to Keisin, swirling around him in the same manner they had done when he had first transformed. He screeched in pain as a bright light engulfed him, panting for breath once it had finally faded.

He looked down at his hands, wriggling them happily as he let out a loud shout of triumph. "Thank Gods, I'm back to normal!" He yelled happily.

"Not quite, kid." Nikko said, trying not to laugh. Keisin looked at him curiously, blinking in surprise when Nikko pointed to his hair.

Keisin looked up, grabbing one of his golden locks of hair only to see red feathers filling his hand. "AAGH!" He yelled in horror, grabbing handfuls of his red feather hair. "Fix it! I look like a freak!"

"It's definitely an interesting look for you." Nikko snickered in amusement before tracing a few more runes in the air. "I think I missed a few- hold on."

Keisin watched the new runes fly through the air toward him, wincing as the feathers glowed a bright white color before turning into his normal blond hair. He sighed with relief at the sight, running his hand through his hair to make sure it was all as it should be.

"You're a tall guy, aren't you?" Nikko looked to Keisin curiously. "And you must be from around here- you have the Arkene appearance."

"I do?" Keisin blinked in surprise. "I was raised in Alasre at my father's tower. I've never been to Arkene before I went here with Pheona before."

"Well, I'm from Arkene too- we can ask around to see if anyone recognizes who you might be related to." Nikko shrugged carelessly. "Besides, maybe you'll find some long lost family or something."

Keisin shifted uneasily, not really knowing if he wanted to find a family or not. He hadn't known anyone other than his father to be related to him… what would they say?

He grunted in pain as someone bumped into him, glaring at the man with red hair as he glanced to him before running off. "What the hell was that about?" Keisin growled in anger, rubbing his painful shoulder from the impact.

"Who knows? He looked pretty weird to me." Nikko said, glancing over his shoulder at the man as he ran off.

Keisin continued to rub his shoulder thoughtfully, having a bad feeling about something.

"I got it!" Cain yelled triumphantly, holding the strands of blond hair in his clenched fist. He grinned, his smile crooked as his burnt skin flexed with the rest of his face. This meant they could complete their plan- Pheona would be his, and Isildre would get all the magic he could want…


	86. Chapter 86 Lightscribe Keep

Pheona and Red ran through Arkene, seeing Keisin and Nikko up ahead. Pheona stopped in front of Keisin, holding the small bird close to her chest as she puffed for breath.  
"What's wrong?" Keisin said in concern, holding her shoulders for a minute as she caught her breath.  
"Isildre's here- I don't know where, but he's definitely here." She said quickly.  
"How do you know?" Keisin's eyes went wide at the mention of the sorcerer, making him look around the alley cautiously.  
"We found a bag filled with pygmy phoenix- they had been… drained somehow. This was the only one left alive." Red explained, pointing to the small phoenix in Pheona's hands.  
Russet chirped once and looked up at Keisin, then pointed to the south before chirping in warning again.  
"What's with Russet?" Keisin looked down at the hatchling as he chirped loudly again, pointing toward the south.  
"Maybe he's nervous about whoever's freaking you guys out." Nikko said in confusion.  
"It's a sorcerer using an immortality spell- fed by magic from creatures… and people. He's also using several mind control spells, though I'm not sure how many." Keisin looked over to the other sorcerer.  
Nikko frowned deeply. "That doesn't sound like anyone I'd like to meet." He said simply, glancing over to Red. "I'd like to show Keisin one last thing, and we can get going, okay? I really don't want to stick around too much if there's some crazy guy on the loose."  
"Sounds good to me." Red nodded in agreement. She turned to Pheona, her eyes widening in realization. "Phoe- you have fire magic- why not give the pygmy some of yours for a bit? From the sounds of it that guy must have somehow taken all of those phoenix's magic."  
Pheona nodded and put a hand over the phoenix, closing her eyes and letting her red magic flow through the creature as it chirped softly against her palm. It sat up, looking a bit more lively, but still sick.  
"Well that's definitely an improvement." Red sighed in relief.  
"Alright kid, I'm going to show you something that might prove something I'm wondering. You look a lot like her, so we'll see." Nikko glanced over at Keisin.  
"Where are we going?" Keisin asked as Nikko started walking forward.  
"it's not too far from here." Was all Nikko said as he continued walking.  
"Hey guys- I'm going to go check on Thiazi and Prism. You go ahead and go, and I'll meet you later, okay?" Pheona said, still feeling uneasy that she had left the creatures alone.  
"Alright. Russet, go with Pheona and lead her back to us when she's ready, okay little guy?" Keisin looked down at the gryphon, who chirped happily and trotted over to Pheona, sitting by her feet patiently.  
"Alright- I'll meet you later. Shouldn't take long, I just want to make sure they're okay." Pheona said before turning in the other direction, walking back toward the inn Thiazi and Prism were still staying in.

Pheona walked over to Thiazi, smiling when the unicorn whickered in greeting.  
"Hey big guy. Doing okay?" Pheona said, patting him on the side affectionately.  
_We are all fine, but thank you for asking._ Prism whispered as he settled on Pheona's shoulder.  
_Where is Keisin?_ The butterfly asked curiously, turning on Pheona's shoulder to look around.  
"Nikko is showing him something." Pheona shrugged. "He should be back soon."  
_Must not have taken very long._ Prism said in surprise, making Pheona turn around to see Keisin walking toward them.  
"I thought Nikko was showing you something." Pheona said, wondering where the other two were.  
"They had to get going. We probably should too." Keisin said, glancing over to Thiazi. The unicorn snorted and tensed as Keisin walked toward him, but otherwise remained still.  
"Why in such a hurry to get back? I thought you liked it here." Pheona asked in concern.  
"You don't want to be warm again? I thought you don't like being cold." Keisin laughed, looking over at her.  
Pheona watched him in confusion for a minute. He had said before that he loved the cold- he had been raised in freezing mountains after all. Why was he so eager to leave? She was fine- she had bundled up in warm clothing for a reason.  
She decided he just wanted to get back to Avalon and mounted Thiazi, waiting for Keisin to climb on behind her. Russet jumped onto her lap and glanced back at Keisin before settling between her legs on Thiazi's back. Pheona looked down at the hatchling as Thiazi started forward.  
Something was very strange.

Nikko, Keisin and Red walked to the other side of an ice covered building, a large snow encrusted field coming into view in front of them.  
"This, Keisin, is Lightscribe Keep." Nikko motioned to the expansive clearing, strange figures blending in with the snow.  
"I saw one of those earlier!" Keisin said in surprise as the creatures turned to look at them. Two larger creatures broke from the rest of the herd and ran up the hill toward them.  
"Those are Icists. They look like deer, but they're actually a kind of dragon." Red explained as the icists approached them, stopping in front of Keisin and looking down at him with interest. The larger one stepped forward, its deep blue eyes bright as it sniffed Keisin cautiously and moved back with a low rumbling growl.  
_You are of our magi._ Keisin heard a deep voice rumble through his mind. Since he had heard Russet Thiazi and Prism talk, why wouldn't it make sense that other creatures could talk as well? He tensed a bit, but shook his head.  
"What magi?" Keisin said in confusion, watching as the icist tilted its frost-covered head in confusion.  
_Lola._ The icist said.  
Keisin gasped in surprise, staring at the icists in the field. "Lola? It can't be the same one… where did she go?"  
_She traveled to the mountains and met a man. She did not return, though she sent messages with her fate._  
"What did it say?" Nikko looked at Keisin's shocked reaction in amusement. The man obviously wasn't expecting this.  
"T-this place, is where my mother was from." Keisin said, still staring at the icist.  
"I thought so." Nikko said in smug satisfaction.  
_You are her son?_ The icist stared at him with new interest. _What became of our magi? We have not heard from her for many years now._  
"She… died." Keisin said sadly. The icists both drooped a bit, glancing at each other for a moment before returning their attention to Keisin.  
_We had been fearing that was the case. Thank you for your visit, sorcerer Keisin, son of our magi. You are a man of both magics- and your fate is that of balance._ The icist nodded in farewell and started trotting back down to the other icists.  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Keisin said in frustration.  
"No idea. I can't even hear them." Nikko shrugged.  
"Dragons tend to be quite cryptic." Red snickered at Keisin's frustrated expression.  
Keisin sighed, running a hand across his face as he glanced back over at the icists. "So what's going to happen to them now that they know mom's gone?"  
"Creatures with no magi are wild- they'll be fine." Red said reassuringly. "We should go find Pheona and tell her what happened."  
"Yeah…" Keisin said, walking back toward where Thiazi and Prism were still at the inn.


	87. Chapter 87 Taken

Keisin looked around the stables, making sure to check down in each stall in case Thiazi had decided to sleep. "I… don't see them anywhere." He said uneasily, looking over to Red and Nikko who were waiting at the door.  
"Maybe she decided to get them some food at the market- unicorns do eat quite a bit after a long run." Red said, pointing to the market a short ways away.  
"Yeah, maybe she did…" Keisin muttered uneasily, looking back at the stables before they made their way toward the market to look for Pheona.

"I'm not seeing anyone in red around here- they'd stick out like a sore thumb." Nikko looked around at the outfits in grey, white and blues in the Arkene market. Keisin ran a hand through his blond hair nervously, looking back toward the inn. "She would have told us if she were doing anything else… right?"  
"Yeah, she's always pretty good about not wandering off too much." Red said, sounding uneasy as well now.  
"I'll go check with the innkeeper to see if she's just up in the room or something." Nikko said, jogging back off toward the inn across the street.  
"I have a bad feeling about something… Did that Isildre guy have anything against Pheona?" Red looked over to Keisin, watching the sorcerer's face blanch and his eyes widen.  
"He killed her parents- you don't think…?" He froze, putting a hand to his face as he took a shaky breath to calm himself down.  
"I hope not, but… if she's not at the inn then we may have to think of that possibility- that she's been taken by him." Red shook her head in frustration. "I should have gone with her…"  
"She's not at the inn- the keeper said she a blond guy checked out a couple hours ago to head back home. He described him… and he sounded exactly like you." Nikko looked to Keisin in worry. "Would that sorcerer friend of yours know transformation magic at all?"  
Keisin put both hands up to his face in panic. "Oh Gods, no no no no… he's got her- where would he even be?" he yelled, his eyes wide.  
"Calm down kid, freaking out isn't going to help anything." Nikko looked down at him, a frown on his face as he thought. "There's always ways to find out where a sorcerer's gone- we just have to find his trail."  
"We'll find her, Keisin. She'll be okay." Red said, trying to reassure herself as much as him.

Pheona rode Thiazi across the tundra as the sun set, looking down at the unicorn as he glanced back uneasily. Prism rested on the unicorn's horn, his wings fluttering softly in the slight breeze.  
"We should probably stop and camp for the night." Keisin said from behind her, a shiver going up his spine so that he shook behind her. She looked back at him in confusion and nodded, hooking her leg over Thiazi's back to dismount and help him down.  
Keisin jumped off the unicorn's back with ease, brushing snow off his legs as he looked around. Pheona froze before dismounting, watching him carefully. Keisin was one of the most inexperienced riders she had ever known- and he had just dismounted with a well-practiced movement…  
Thiazi turned his head and bit her sleeve lightly between his teeth, murring quietly with concerned eyes.  
"I know." She said, glancing back to Keisin as she patted the unicorn reassuringly on the neck. She dismounted from Thiazi and watched as Keisin sat on one of the rock outcroppings they had stopped near, looking over to her expectedly.  
"Can you make a fire for us? There's some brush over there for sticks." He pointed toward the bush nearby, barren of leaves. Pheona nodded and gathered a few tinder sticks and set them on the stone.  
"So, what did Nikko want to show you?" Pheona asked casually, setting her hand over the sticks to set them on fire.  
"Oh nothing, really." Keisin shrugged, shifting uneasily.  
"Well it must have been something kind of important- he seemed pretty excited when you guys went off." She insisted, the branches sparking into flames, growing brighter.  
"Just a spell they wanted to show me. Like I said- nothing much." He shrugged again.  
Pheona glanced over to him, her red eyes cautious. "Did Red show you one of her fire spells? She's pretty good with them."  
"Yeah- it was pretty nice. Not something I'm too into, though."  
Pheona looked down at the fire, her eyes wide as she thought wildly at what to do next- this man was obviously not Keisin… but who was he?  
"IDIOT!" A loud voice boomed through the clearing they had stopped in. A black mist appeared next to Keisin, solidifying into Isildre in his black robes.  
Pheona gasped in terror and scrambled backwards away from him, the flame going when her concentration broke and casting them into darkness.  
"You have NO sense, you imbecile! You're absolutely useless!" Isildre raged at Keisin. "We're not nearly far enough away they can't find her."  
Pheona watched as Keisin's image fell, his hair brightening into red hair, and scars of boils and ridges from burns covering part of his face.  
"Hey Sparks." Cain grinned at Pheona as she stared at him in shock. "Long time no see."  
"Pay attention, idiot!" Isildre grabbed Cain by the collar and hoisted him to his feet. "Why didn't you pay more attention to what I told you? Red is a WATER magi!"  
"Big deal- we've got her here, so what's the problem?" Cain shrugged carelessly.  
Isildre dropped him, his black hair falling over his face as a smug smile came over his face. "We have her indeed- but I know exactly what the problem is." He looked back up to Cain, his black eyes raging. "The problem is YOU." He grabbed the magi by the throat, ignoring his choking sounds as he smiled in amusement at the struggling.  
"You are no longer of any use to me, and so you must die." His smile widened, black tendrils of magic surrounding Cain and wrapping around him like snakes. Pheona covered her ears to keep Cain's pained screams out of her head as his skin burned before turning black and falling off in ashes on the snow below them. Isildre released the man when only a bleached skeleton remained, looking down at Pheona. She yelled in horror as Isildre turned toward her, a smile on his face.  
_Run!_ Prism yelled loudly as he fluttered in front of Isildre, a bright blinding flash filling the area. Isildre flinched in pain from the light and looked up to see Thiazi letting out an angry cry, his hooves flying in the air as he reared to attack Isildre, Russet growling and diving for his ankles, beak and claws ready to tear.  
"ENOUGH!" Isildre yelled angrily, a blast of black magic coming from his hands to blast the creatures. He watched them fall to the ground and looked over to Pheona as she lay unconscious from the blast as well. He picked her up and glanced back at the creatures to make sure they didn't follow before walking off, the sun setting and casting darkness across the horizon.


	88. Chapter 88 Evil Is Made, Not Born

Thiazi woke up with a start, looking around to see Pheona and the sorcerer gone. All that was left of the imposter was a charred skeleton, surrounded by a strange sticky red substance on the snow.  
The unicorn snorted as his head throbbed painfully from the dark magic, looking beside him to see Prism lying on the snow, and Russet stirring with a chirp from his other side.  
The hatchling looked up, letting out a growl of alarm as he looked around.  
_Oh no!_ Russet covered his head with his talons as he cried _Big mean man took her! Daddy will be upset his mate is gone!_  
_Calm down, kid. It'll be alright. _Thiazi said reassuringly- he wasn't too sure that was true, though. He stood up and walked slowly over to Prism, blowing on the butterfly's wings gently to try and wake him up. _Prism? Bud- you awake?_ He asked in concern.  
After he got no response from the butterfly he murred lowly in concern, looking over to Russet, who was still crying.  
_Kid, please calm down- I need you to help. But you have to listen carefully, okay?_  
Russet nodded, his eyes still teary as he stopped crying.  
_I think Prism might be hurt, but I can't pick him up without hurting him more. I need you to pick him up __carefully__ and sit on my back. We're going to go find Keisin, and maybe someone can help Prism.  
_Russet nodded and trotted over to Prism, picking the limp butterfly up gently in his talons, looking down at him in concern. He squawked loudly in surprise as Thiazi picked him up by the scruff of his neck with his teeth and set him on his back.  
_Hang on, and keep hold of Prism. We'll find Keisin and help Pheona. _Thiazi said, breaking into a gallop back toward Arkene.

Pheona woke up with a terrible headache, and cold. She groaned in pain and sat up, holding her hand to her head before she remembered what had happened.  
Isildre had disguised Cain as Keisin- and she had fallen for it. She opened her eyes and saw Isildre sitting in front of her in a chair, watching her with interest.  
"Are you from the desert?" He asked casually, as if nothing was wrong.  
"No." Pheona hissed angrily at him, backing up against the white stone wall behind her. She shivered at the contact and tried to use her fire to warm herself- but it wasn't there.  
"You're probably realizing you have no magic to use. Wouldn't want you to burn down my new tower. Now would we?" Isildre smiled wryly. "Besides- I want to ask you a few questions without you trying to burn me to a crisp."  
Pheona watched him warily and nodded slowly- it wasn't like she had any other choice at this point.  
"If you're not from the desert, why do you have the skin and eyes of the desert clan?" Isildre continued his questioning.  
"They're from my father- the man you _murdered_, you bastard." Pheona snapped.  
"So then your father is from the desert region. Interesting…" Isildre looked up thoughtfully. "Any idea why his family left the region?"  
Pheona blinked in surprise at the question, but frowned. "No."  
"So your father's family of magi had red eyes?"  
"They weren't magi- my father was the only one born with magic."  
Isidre's eyes widened as he leaned forward in interest. "Is that so?"  
"Why do you care?" Pheona asked, watching him cautiously.  
Isildre leaned back in his wooden chair, looking down at her with a frown. "Do you know why I want to live as long as I do, young magi?"  
Pheona shook her head- she would never know the logic of someone mad enough to torture kill and maim any living creature for their own gain.  
"To take revenge. You see, long ago when I was young, I lived a happy life. Does this surprise you?" Isildre smiled as Pheona's eyes widened. "Evil is not born, magi- it is made. What made me as I am now will pay for it- and I will destroy all who failed me." He growled, his black eyes flashing momentarily.  
Pheona didn't want to ask, but… how had he become the sorcerer that had murdered her parents?  
"I need to kill you, magi." Isildre looked at her with a frown, as if he were only discussing the time of day. "But you look too much like her… there must be another way."  
"Who?" PHeona couldn't help but ask.  
Isildre sighed, his eyes haunted. "My wife. You probably remember that sorcerer that ran into your parents' keep so long ago? He had taken her."  
Pheona tensed, realizing she had helped that man toward Avalon- not knowing who he was at the time.  
"I had called the battle magi, The Keep, even the paladins! But do you know why they wouldn't help me?" Isildre reached up to his neck, holding up the black pendant hanging from a chain there. "Because I'm from a race of people they fought in a war hundreds of years ago! They could have stopped him- saved her and she'd still be alive… But no, they did NOTHING!" He yelled in rage, dropping his amulet back down to his chest. "I will show them my pain- I'll make them live it every waking day and they'll regret the moment they refused to help me."  
Pheona sat in shock, not really knowing what to do. Instead she just watched as he looked at her suddenly, his eyes filled with hatred.  
"But first- You have to die." He said, rushing forward.  
Pheona gasped as he wrapped his hands around her neck and squeezed tightly, making her gasp for air and struggle against him frantically. She saw his eyes fill with pain as he looked down at her, his teeth gritting together in frustration.  
"DAMN IT!" Isildre yelled angrily, taking his hands away from her. He watched her gasp for air and cough, then stood and walked from the room, slamming the door behind him loudly.  
Pheona sighed with relief when he left, sagging against the wall behind her. She jumped in surprise when something moved against her shoulder, the small pygmy phoenix looking at her from her hair before jumping down onto her lap.  
"What are you doing here?" Pheona looked down at him, relieved that she wasn't alone in this place.  
"Ti- ti Mee-retiii-me Fiji-ji-ji-ji!" The tan pygmy phoenix twittered excitedly, the small red flames on its feathers and tail flaring temporarily.  
"Is that so?" Pheona smiled. "Then maybe I'll call you Fiji?"  
The phoenix puffed its feathers happily, twittering again.  
"Well Fiji, we need to find a way out of here…" She looked around the room to see a red flow radiating from the walls around her. She figured that was how he was blocking her fire magic, so she couldn't use that…  
She smiled wryly, knowing that Isildre only knew her for her fire magic- but her parents had been a fire magi… and a water magi.  
"Let's see if I can do this." Pheona whispered to Fiji, who hopped down her leg to get a better view as she held her hands over the stone floor. A small drop of water came from her hand and she smiled in satisfaction. Though it wasn't much magic, it was still there.  
"Now to take him by surprise. It'll take a while, but we'll get out." She said thoughtfully, and chuckled as the phoenix puffed out his chest feathers confidently. 


	89. Chapter 89 Broken Glass

Nikko flipped through a small book from the market, stopping on a page. "Here we are- tracking spell. I don't know much about this Isildre fellow, so how about we track Pheona? We need her element…" he thought for a minute. "Fire, right?"  
Red snickered in amusement. "Her name sounds like Phoenix- I don't know what do you think?" She laughed.  
"I haven't known her long, love. For all I know she could have been a water magi." He looked down at the page again, glancing through the text. "Ah, here we go, fire magi- we'll need a candle and something she holds dear to her- an item she usually has with her."  
"But all of our things are in our packs- which are on Thiazi." Keisin said in frustration, trying to look over Nikko's shoulder at the book.  
"He'll probably come back if he was left alone." Red said reassuringly. She looked out over the horizon of snow, but saw nothing.  
"We should wait, then. I can't do anything without something that belongs to her." Nikko shrugged, closing the book.  
Keisin nodded with a frown, looking for any movement in the snow as the sun set. He hated doing nothing.

"It's so dark!" Russet trilled in fear as he looked around him, seeing nothing but snow.  
"It's okay- and be careful of Prism." Thiazi reminded him, pricking his ears to listen for the sound of a city. Shouldn't have been too hard- humans are usually quite loud when in groups.  
He heard a low growl from behind them and turned around to see a huge tasharn at full size, stalking them. Thiazi looked up at the creature several times his size with an annoyed snort. Obviously the cat had never seen a frost unicorn before. He reared and let out a loud warning whinny as Russet held onto his back, gripping his claws into Thiazi's mane. His horn flashed brightly, making the tasharn flinch.  
"Ignorant cat, who do you think I am?" Thiazi yelled angrily. The tasharn realized what he was and shrunk down to the size of Russet in fear.  
"Show me where the city is- then you may be on your way once we get there." Thiazi said firmly, glaring down at the tasharn.  
"B-but-" The tasharn said uneasily.  
"What? You mistook a unicorn for a meal- one of the herd led by Lir and Amalthea. I will let you go in peace if you show us where the city is." Thiazi pounded a hoof on the snow in frustration.  
"Lir? The guardian?" the tasharn shouted in terror. "Okay, I'll take you- just don't tell him what I did!"  
"Thank you. I will not tell him as long as we get there safely." Thiazi snorted, following the tasharn through the snow, hoping the cat knew where it was going.

"Hey… what's that?" Red squinted her eyes as something moved in the distance. Keisin stood up to get a closer look and heard a familiar trill of excitement.  
"That's Russet!" Keisin grinned happily, glad the hatchling was alright. He watched as Thiazi galloped up to them, murring at a gray cat before it ran off into the night. The unicorn walked up to Keisin, his eyes filled with frustration. He swung his head to motion toward Russet on his back, who held up Prism.  
"Oh no…" Keisin took the butterfly in his hands delicately.  
"A cascara butterfly?" Red looked down at it curiously. "Here- let me see if I can heal it any." She put her hand over the small insect, her palm glowing for a moment before fading.  
Prism twitched in Keisin's hand, his small antennae wriggling. _Pheona? Is she here?_ He whispered, sounding tired.  
"It talks!" Nikko's eyes widened in surprise as Red shushed him, trying to listen to the soft voice.  
Thiazi leaned down and whickered softly to the butterfly, who twitched again in shock. _I see. He took her. She is in great danger, then._ The butterfly tried to stand, but one of his wings remained motionless on Keisin's palm. _Damn, my wing is cracked.  
_Sure enough, a small crack had formed in one of the small panes of glass that made the butterfly's wings.  
_I won't be able to fly until it heals- and my glass cannot be healed by human hand. I am… useless._ Prism said sadly.  
Thiazi whinnied in protest, setting his horn against Keisin's palm.  
_Thank you, Thiazi. _The butterfly said gratefully, crawling slowly up onto his horn and hanging on as a perch.  
"What happened to Pheona? Why did she leave?" Keisin asked, hoping the butterfly would get better- he had traveled with the creature long enough to get attached to it.  
_An imposter imitated you, Keisin. He was illusioned to look like you, but after talking with him long enough to see the differences in personality, Pheona realized it was not the real you. She was attacked by Isildre, who killed the imposter- he seemed to be someone Pheona knew, though I do not know him myself. Isildre called him 'Cain'.  
_Red blanched in shock. "Cain is following her around still? I thought she got rid of him a long time ago."  
_It seems not. Isildre attacked her, and we rose to defend her as best we could. His magic was too strong- he simply blasted me with it._ The butterfly let off a soft sigh of frustration. _Through all my travels, I have never been useful in defending my magi. It is one of my greatest weaknesses._  
"You tried your best." Keisin sighed. "Do you know where he might have taken her?"  
_I do not. I was knocked out for when he took her- all I know is that I just woke up in your hand, and Thiazi said she was taken.  
_Russet jumped off Thiazi's back, nuzzling Keisin's leg with a small mewling noise before looking up at him sadly.  
"I know you tried too. We'll find her, and we'll rescue her… somehow." He gritted his teeth in frustration as his anger rose. Cain had been at the root of the problem again. It seemed no matter how hard Pheona and Rynu tried, their past always seemed to haunt them somehow.  
"I wish we knew more about what we're up against. What kind of magic does this guy use? It sounds dangerous." Nikko said uneasily. "Dark sorcerers aren't like dark magi- magi are weaker when it comes to magic- no offense, love- but sorcerers just get even more powerful when they turn to dark magic. Is there any hint at what this guy does? Any consequences or have you seen the result of his magic before? Anything unusual?"  
Keisin thought for a minute. "He can obviously do the typical magic blasting, but he can also control people's minds by putting a mark on them- like Rynu."_  
_Thiazi whickered, Prism twitching on his horn in surprise. _Apparently all that was left of Cain when Thiazi awoke was dried bones and a strange red substance. How would he manage to do that?  
_Nikko's eyes widened in horror. "Kid- do you know anything about where this guy came from? His past- or anything about him other than he wants to kill magi for some reason?" he whispered uneasily.  
"No, why?" Keisin looked over at the older man nervously.  
"He's not just a sorcerer anymore- he probably was a sorcerer at some point, but… he's a necromancer- or will be soon if he's not stopped." Nikko said, glancing over to Keisin.  
"He's a necromancer? I thought they were just legend." Red said, her eyes widening as well.  
"Wait." Keisin held up a hand in confusion. "My dad never taught me about them- what are necromancers?"  
"Your father probably didn't want you to know about them. They're sorcerers turned evil- they summon the dead and use other people as their own slaves. Whatever caused this man to turn toward such dark magic… Necromancy twists the mind- it causes someone to go insane, so that he has no morals except what he wants…" Nikko trailed off to let the others finish the thought.  
"And he wants to kill magi." Keisin said in horror.  
"He'll start another Wizard War. How could others not know about him?" Red looked over to Keisin.  
"He was working with the Brotherhood, from what Rynu said. He was using them to keep his identity a secret- using the name Demetre. I don't think he cares if anyone knows whether or not he's evil, now. He just wants to kill people- and he may start with Pheona." His voice hitched in panic. "We have to find her quickly- how do you do that spell?" he ran over to Thiazi, digging through Pheona's pack. He found a strange stone on a chain, held in by a clawed hand. An inscription on the metal read 'to my dearest brother, Raoul.' "This belonged to her father- it must be important to her." He brought it over to Nikko quickly.  
"Alright, now all we need is a candle. Let's head over to the market, and then back to the inn to cast the spell." Nikko nodded, taking the chain carefully. He looked down at Keisin in concern. "It'll be alright, kid. Just keep calm, and try your best to find her."  
Keisin looked up at him in surprise and nodded, his blue eyes still filled with panic.


	90. Chapter 90 Unknown Sorrow

Pheona looked down at Fiji as he twittered angrily in her hand. She smiled in amusement and chuckled softly. "I know little guy- I don't like him either. We have to figure out a way to distract him so we can get away…" She looked around thoughtfully, seeing nothing in the room but the chair Isildre usually sat in when he talked to her.  
Fiji twittered again to get her attention, flapping his small wings furiously. He opened them and a small ball of flame appeared in front of him, swirling within the air. He pointed one wing to her, and then to the fire.  
Pheona frowned as she tried to figure out what he was trying to say. "You want me to try using water on it?" She asked, looking at the ball of flame before smiling in realization. "You smart little bird- I see what you're thinking. That's a fantastic idea!"  
Fiji puffed out his feathers happily and churred, squeaking as the door opened and Pheona quickly moved him behind her back. She leaned back against the wall, making sure he was secure behind her as Isildre walked in with a bright smile.  
"I've thought of a wonderful solution. It will take a while to accomplish, but…" He walked over to her, the red glow resuming its place over the door behind him.  
Pheona resisted the urge to smile- so whenever he opened the door, the glow disappeared from the door… "And what would that be, crazy man?" Pheona said idly, hoping he didn't mean anything that might physically disable her.  
Isildre frowned, anger flashing in his black eyes. "It will indeed take a long time to deal with that wild personality of yours- but I believe she is strong enough." Isildre reached out quickly, taking hold of Pheona's chin and moving her head to examine the sides of her face. Pheona tensed as a slow smile crept onto his face.  
"You are indeed similar to her- there are of course differences, but you seem to be almost… related." He said, his eyebrows going up in curiosity. "I will have to examine this fact later. For now-" He brought his hands up in front of her, making her gasp in fear as his magic swirled around his palms. He chanted low and put his palm against her forehead, channeling his magic into her.  
Pheona gasped as his magic flowed through her, seeming to seep into every fiber of her being. She whimpered in terror, wondering what he was doing to her. She felt suddenly numb- everything was gone, everything was disappearing. She saw a bright light in front of her, one that seemed to get brighter as his magic flowed from his stone at his neck, glowing against his robes. She couldn't move for some reason- but felt something against her back. She felt a twinge of pain against her spine and snapped out of her trance, reaching up to grab his amulet in her hands.  
The magic stopped as he stared at her in shock, his black eyes wide.  
"I know what happens if I take this from you, sorcerer." Pheona growled angrily. "Reverse whatever you've done, or I rip it off."  
Isildre looked down at her with a pleasant smile. "Even I cannot reverse what has already been started- however, it will take time to complete. The spell has started though- you will soon see its effects." He looked down at his amulet, then back into her red eyes. "You do not have the capacity to kill me. You are too weak."  
Pheona bit her lip, knowing he was right. Even if he had killed her parents- even if he had tortured Rynu for years, she still wouldn't be able to kill him. She was weak- she couldn't finish this. She closed her eyes at the pain of that realization, her grip on his amulet loosening a little. He grabbed her wrist, slowly pulling her hand away from his amulet until it fell back against his robes. He smiled in satisfaction, looking at her tears with a smile.  
"Perhaps I overestimated you. You are not as strong as most fire magi- you do not really hold that flame of anger in you as most do."  
Pheona grimaced, knowing that was true as well. She had chosen to be a fire magi because of her past- not because it was what she was best at. When her father had first discovered her magic, he and Conintor had come to the conclusion that she had no specific element she was best with- she could choose to specialize in any of them. Only when Avalon had burned down, had she chosen fire for her specialization because she wanted to prevent the past from repeating. She wanted to protect her beloved home.  
"But soon that will not matter- she will come, she will rise again. I will admit I do not know what will happen to you- but honestly it is a sacrifice I'm willing to deal with." He stood up again, looking down at her with an odd expression as she cried softly against the wall. "For all it is worth- I am sorry it had to be this way."  
Pheona looked up at him in surprise as he turned around and walked back out the door of the room. She leaned back against the wall as the door shut, the red glow resuming around it. She felt Fiji squeeze his way out from behind her, looking up at her with concern as she stared at the door in shock.  
"I don't know what he's done." She whispered, looking down at the pygmy phoenix with eyes filled with terror. "Whatever it is, it can't be good-but I don't know what he's done."  
Fiji hopped up onto her lap, looking at her in worry before poofing his feathers out and settling against her for comfort. He flared his fire to keep her warm as she tried to figure out what had happened.  
She felt normal- nothing major had happened, yet she felt some sort of twinge of sorrow for some reason. Some sort of eternal sorrow that made her want to weep until she ran out of tears. She didn't know why, though- she should feel fear, not sorrow.  
She had to get out of this place. The next time he came in, she would be ready. She looked down at Fiji, wiping her face to get rid of her tears. "Are you ready for this, Fiji? We're going to ambush him next time- we'll catch him by surprise and get out of here."  
"Fiji-ti!" Fiji twittered loudly, puffing up his feathers again so that he looked bigger than he was. Pheona smiled down at the little bird and ran a finger over his head comfortingly; glad she wasn't alone in this place.

"Here we go!" Nikko said triumphantly as he held up the locket. The light blue magic that came from his hand swirled around the locket, infusing with it until it flashed brightly. A soft red line flowed toward the east, through the wall of the room in the inn, and outside into the cold.  
"So- she's obviously somewhere in an easterly sort of direction." He looked at the line with interest.  
"So this line will lead us to her?" Keisin looked at the red line, his heart thumping with anxiousness at finding Pheona. He had a bad feeling about something.  
"It should lead us right to her." Nikko nodded.  
"Then let's get going!" Keisin said, standing up and looking down at Red and Nikko. "The sooner we get going, the sooner we find her- we'll kick Isildre's ass and get her back." He said quickly, running out the door to get Thiazi ready to ride.  
Nikko chuckled in amusement and set the locket in a pocket of his white tunic. "Well, someone's a bit eager." He said to Red, standing as well.  
"He has a point- the more time Pheona is will this sorcerer, the more things could happen to her." Red said uneasily.  
"That's true- well, let's get going then." Nikko said, walking outside to the unicorns to go rescue Pheona, Keisin already mounted on Thiazi and waiting impatiently.


	91. Chapter 91 The Lie

Pheona looked up as the door opened, Isildre walking in with a strange chain in his hand.  
"Ready?" Pheona whispered softly to Fiji behind her back, who chirped quietly.  
She had to get the timing just right if this was going to work. If they missed… Well, she would think about that if it happened. For now, she watched as he closed the door and walked forward her, sitting in his chair again. He examined her for a minute and frowned.  
"I'm not sure when the first signs of the spell will appear. We'll just have to assume it worked." He muttered, taking out the chain and leaning forward to start another spell.  
"Now!" Pheona yelled, making Isildre jump in surprise. Fiji flew up and landed on Pheona's head, opening his wings so that a small flame ball appeared in front of Isildre's face.  
"Ree-tee, Fiji-ji-ji-ji!" Fiji twittered as Pheona brought her hands up, forcing as much water into the flame as she could.  
The water exploded into scalding steam when it hit the fire, burning Isildre's face so that he yelled in pain and stood, his hands covering his face in panic only to be burned by the vapor as well.  
Pheona grabbed Fiji and ran to the door as the sorcerer continued screaming, running down the stairs as fast as she could. She yelled triumphantly when she ran outside into the snow, hearing Isildre's groans of pain from within the tower.  
There was no time to waste- she had to get as far away as possible, as quickly as she could. She ran through the snow back to Arkene, hoping Thiazi, Prism and Russet were alright.

Keisin cursed the snow as it started to fall in big, fluffy flakes, making it hard to follow the faint red line.  
"Hey- " Nikko yelled. "Is the line moving?"  
Keisin squinted his eyes to focus and sure enough, the line moved slightly toward the west.  
"You don't think he's taking her somewhere else, do you?" Red asked nervously.  
"I don't know, but we'd better step up the pace in case he is." Keisin patted Thiazi on the flank, who snorted in agreement and plowed quickly through the snow with his heavy hooves.

_The snow is getting worse._ Prism said against Thiazi's horn. _But something is up ahead._  
Keisin saw a small speck of red and black against the white snow, his heart thumping anxiously at the sight. Was it her?  
They ran quickly toward the figure, who looked up at them and held her hands out defensively, a red glow lighting the snow around her.  
"Pheona!" Keisin yelled happily, jumping off Thiazi and running through the snow toward her.  
"Keisin?" Pheona said in surprise as he scooped her up in his arms and twirled her around in joy. "What are you doing here?" She asked, smiling in relief at seeing the _real _ Keisin again.  
"Well- rescuing you." He said in amusement.  
"Oh well, thank you- but Fiji and I managed to figure it out." Pheona smiled. She was glad to admit to being able to take care of herself. Usually she needed help with everything- but for the first time she had done the impossible _on her own.  
_"Fiji?" Keisin said in confusion, looking her over to make sure she was alright. He heard a loud twittering from beneath the fur-lined winter robes she was wearing, a small tan pygmy phoenix chirping at him as he squeezed Pheona against him protectively- obviously he had squished the creature in the process.  
"Oops." Keisin chuckled in amusement at the small creature. He looked back at Pheona, moving a stray lock of her black hair from her face affectionately. "I'm so glad you're okay- did he do anything? Cast any strange spells?"  
Pheona bit her lip- he looked so happy and relieved. His deep blue eyes were bright with joy- she didn't want him to worry. Besides, the spell may have been nothing anyway. "No." she smiled.  
Keisin nodded, squeezing her against him again in relief. "I was so worried…" He murmered against her hair.  
Pheona chuckled. "You- the big powerful sorcerer was worried?" She asked teasingly, but hugged him back.  
"Of course I was." He said, refusing to let her go.  
"I hate to break this touching moment, but if we don't head back to Arkene soon we'll get snowed _out." _Nikko yelled from on top his unicorn a short distance away. "I'd rather not sleep in a cave."  
"A bed… that sounds fantastic." Pheona said wistfully, finally realizing how tired she was and sagging a bit in her posture.  
"Alright- let's head back." Keisin said, holding her hand as they walked back over to Thiazi. He refused to let her out of his site for now.  
Thiazi whickered happily as they mounted, making Pheona smile and pat his neck. "Good to see you too- and you, Prism." She said to the butterfly on Thiazi's horn.  
_You'll have to forgive me for now coming closer._ Prism whispered. _My wing has been cracked._  
Pheona frowned, but smiled reassuringly. "Amalthea can heal that when we get back to Avalon." She said to the butterfly, who let out a small sigh of relief.  
"Alright- back to Arkene." Keisin said, turning Thiazi around sot they were heading back west. Pheona smiled, noticing how much better Keisin was with riding. She was glad to be back- hopefully things would be better now.

"Well, I was glad to help, but we have our own mission to finish." Nikko said once they were back in Arkene.  
"Yes- sorry for not being able to stay long, Pheona- but it's an urgent matter. I am glad you're alright, though." Red smiled.  
"No problem, Red. Good luck in your travels." Pheona smiled back.  
"Keisin- keep an eye on her. She's a magnet for trouble." Red said teasingly.  
"Oh, I know." Keisin laughed as Pheona flushed with embarrassment. He turned to Nikko and held out a hand. "It was good to meet another sorcerer who's not trying to kill me." He smirked.  
"Same here, kid. Keep up your studies- and don't try any more ancient rune spells unless you know the runes first." Nikko snickered in amusement.  
Pheona waved as Red and Nikko rode off, Red turning around to wave farewell.  
"Interesting friends you have." Keisin glanced over to Pheona.  
"You haven't even met them all." She smiled as they dismounted from Thiazi. "Now come on, I'm _starving._" She said, grabbing his wrist and dragging him inside as he smiled in amusement.

"So, what did he want from you?" Keisin asked as they ate bread and fruit in their room at the inn.  
"I'm not sure- he asked where I was from, since I look like I'm from the desert, apparently."  
"I wouldn't know- but your skin is naturally darker than mine. It would make sense you're from a warmer climate than I am." Keisin said thoughtfully.  
"He kept talking about his wife- apparently she was killed or something." She shrugged.  
Keisin paused for a minute and frowned. "That may be why he's so bend on revenge." He said. "I know if you were killed I might go a little… crazy." He said hesitantly, not liking the thought.  
"Hopefully not _Isildre_ crazy." Pheona said teasingly, but froze, her red eyes wide.  
"What? Did I say something?" Keisin smiled, but turned uneasy as she continued to stare straight ahead at him with unblinking eyes. "Pheona?"  
"Keisin." She whispered, her voice barely audible. "Help."  
"What's wrong?" He said, standing and moving closer to her as tears filled her eyes. "Pheona- say something!" He yelled when she wouldn't respond.  
"I'm sorry. I lied." She whispered, closing her eyes and falling out of the chair she had been sitting in.  
Keisin yelled in panic, kneeling next to her and propping up her head- she was still breathing…  
He watched as she opened her eyes, looking up at him in confusion. "Who are you?"


	92. Chapter 92 Origins

"Who am I?" Keisin laughed in disbelief. "Very funny, Pheona." He helped her sit up, moving his hand through her hair to make sure she wasn't hurt too badly on her head.  
She continued to stare at him, and looked around her in confusion. "Where am I?"  
"We're in Arkene, remember? Isildre kidnapped you, and we're heading back to Avalon."  
"Isildre?" She sat up, her eyes wide. "He's here? Where is he?"  
"Well I'd assume back in that tower of his, why?" Keisin looked at her in concern. She was acting so strangely…  
"N-nothing. I probably shouldn't see him anyway, especially since Star-" She froze, and looked around her with wide eyes, suddenly panicked. "Where is she?"  
"Who?" Keisin growled in frustration, not understanding what she was trying to say.  
"Starla! Where's my little girl?" She looked around in panic, but Keisin gripped her tighter as she struggled against him.  
"Little girl? I have no idea who that is! Calm down, Pheona!" He said in frustration, holding her against him to keep her from hurting herself again.  
"Stop calling me that." She looked back at him with sudden frustration. "I'm not Pheona."  
"Then who are you?" Keisin asked sarcastically. "Because you sure as hell look like Pheona."  
The woman looked at him in disbelief and raised a hand up to her face, looking at her palm in confusion. "Wha-" She examined her skin for a minute before feeling her face. "What?" She whispered, starting to shake with wide eyes. "What's happened?"  
"I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out." Keisin hoisted her up against him again, trying to keep her supported. "You're really starting to freak me out, though."  
"I… I don't know what happened. I was in Voltar… and then…" Her eyes widened and she let out a small wail of despair. "I was killed! They killed me, then how am I here?"  
"Killed?" Keisin looked down at her, still not able to understand her. "Just… calm down, and start from the beginning. Why do you not know me? I'm your… Well we've been together for a while now. I'd hope you'd at least remember me after a bump on the head." He said, trying not to reveal the pain that was tearing through him at the thought.  
She looked up at him and shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, I don't know who you are. I'm not…" She touched her face again, as if unable to understand what she was feeling. "This isn't me, though. I don't know what happened, but I shouldn't be here. I died, I should be in the otherworld." Her voice shook as she spoke. "My name is Marlena. I… I was from the Etain Desert, and I… I did foolish things. I was so gullible, so lonely… I thought he was true with his words, but he prove to me time after time that he was insane- absolutely insane." She buried her face in her palm in despair. "I was so stupid. I was with child, and I didn't want a child to be around him- so I ran. One of his friends was willing to help me. He got me to Voltar, and I stayed there in hiding among the people. But… someone else must have found me, because they killed me, and I don't know what happened to my daughter."  
"Wait- who's insane?"  
"My husband… Isildre." She looked up at him, tears starting to form in her eyes.  
Keisin froze, staring at her for a minute before letting out a long groan of frustration. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. "He _did_ do it. He put his wife in my Pheona." He said, starting to shake as well as emotions roiled through him. "How do I fix this? How do I get her back?"  
The woman looked at him in concern and wrapped her arms around him as well, though cautiously. "I'm sorry. You seem to care a lot for this Pheona, don't you?" She whispered, trying to calm him down.  
"I just got her back. Isildre captured her, and I just got her back. How can this happen?" He said bitterly, his fists clenching in her red robes in anger. "He's done so much to her already, and now this… Why can't he just leave her alone?"  
Marlena couldn't help but feel pity for this man, though she still didn't know who he was. She held him gently, trying to ignore the guilt she was feeling for taking his woman from him. "Tell me what happened. I don't know anything that's happened with this woman, or with you."  
Keisin looked up at her, his blue eyes filled with sorrow and he nodded slowly. "I don't know all of what's happened with Pheona's past, but I'll tell you what I know."

Marina looked up from her book as a loud bark sounded through Inasi. She blinked in surprise- for she had no canines inside the keep- and closed her book as a dark pugeon strode in. It sat on the ground and waited expectantly.  
It was dressed in the symbol of the 'public' pugeons that could be hired by anyone in the country to deliver notes. They had relatively easy passwords- something that anyone could use.  
"What do you have for me, boy?" She tried, and smiled as the pugeon barked again, taking a rolled up scroll from its side and handing the drool covered paper to her.  
"Thank you." She said, trying to hide her disgust at the drool as the dog let out another bark in response and walked back out of the room. She looked at the seal, noticing it was from Novillo- but addressed to Rynu.  
She stared at the name in surprise. How had Novillo known Rynu would be at Inasi, and not Avalon? Then again, this _was_ Novillo. He had ways of knowing things like that.  
She stood and walked through the halls to find Rynu- he had wandered off while she was reading.  
She found him in her lounge, sleeping on one of the plush sofas in the room. He had dozens of cats gathered around him as he slept, some of them asleep on top of him, and others batted at his wavy hair in amusement. One cat was staring at him as he snored, rising and falling with his breathing.  
Marina had to resist laughing in amusement at the scene. The cats of her keep had been fascinated with him since he had arrived.  
Medusa was coiled at his feet, stirring when Marina entered the room, but set her head back down when she saw nothing bad was happening.  
"Hey- Rynu." Marina said, walking over to him and touching his shoulder to wake him up.  
Rynu jumped in surprise, a rushing wind filling the room and knocking Marina against the bookcase behind her.  
Ryn sat up in a scramble, sending cats flying in all directions as he rushed over to her. "Are you alright?" He said in concern as he kneeled next to her.  
"Yeah… what happened?" Marina said in confusion, sitting up and rubbing her aching head.  
"I don't know- did you trip?" He asked, moving a book that had fallen on her shoulder. "You shouldn't wake me up like that, you scared me."  
"Sorry- I just wanted to tell you a letter came for you- from Novillo."  
Rynu blinked in confusion. "Novillo?"  
"Yeah, here." Marina handed him the letter, sitting up to get more comfortable on the floor.  
Rynu broke the seal and unraveled the letter, looking down at the scrawling script with unease. "Uh…" He said, squinting his eyes as if that would make more sense of things.  
"What's it about? He sent a pugeon- so it must be important."  
Rynu looked up at Marina awkwardly. "I…um… can't read it."  
"You can't?" Marina said in confusion.  
"No." Rynu said in shame. "No one taught me. Pheona tried, but…"  
Marina chuckled, making Rynu's flush deepen. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I can teach you if you want."  
Rynu smiled in relief. "I'd like that. Here- you read it."  
Marina nodded and took the letter, reading it aloud.

_Dear Rynu-_

_Remember when you came back, and I trained you for a while, but you refused to use your magic? I think it's about time you learned how. Yours is a powerful ability, and to leave something that strong untrained might be dangerous to those around you. I went to Etain desert and found you a master._

Rynu looked at Marina uneasily as a grin expression came over his face, but he continued to listen.

_Yours is a rare gift- which would be terrible to neglect, whether you think it's a curse or not. Just because it is your father's magic does not mean you need to follow in his footsteps. Yes you are Nostros' son, but you are also Serena's son. You may be surprised how strong your mother was, even though she was so shy._

_I hope you can find it within yourself to accept your gifts, Rynu- for that's what they are. Origin magic is dangerous if left unchecked- you know the legend of the shaman._

_-'Uncle' Novillo_

Marina looked down at the letter in confusion. How was an earth mage unique? She heard Rynu let out a long sigh and he ran a hand through his hair in anxiety. He glanced up at Marina, who was watching him expectantly.  
"Mind explaining what 'Origin' magic is?" She said, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "I thought you were an earth mage."  
"No, technically I think that's from Conintor." He said, looking at the floor thoughtfully.  
"What do you mean 'from Conintor'? You're not making any sense!"  
Rynu sighed and looked up at her meekly. "Do water magic."  
"Why?" Marina asked skeptically.  
"I'll show you- just trust me." He insisted.  
She watched him for a moment and sighed in frustration, but raised a hand she and she brought a ball of churning water from a basin on the counter. She held it in her hand, wondering why he had her do this.  
He stared at the water, frowning in concentration as he brought a hand up.  
The water wobbled for a moment before streaming through the air toward Rynu, and settled in a churning sphere in his hand. "Woah, that feels weird." He muttered, screaming the water from hand to hand in amusement.  
Marina stared at him in shock as he used water magic, her cyan eyes wide. "H-how are you doing that?" She whispered.  
"It's just something I can do." He shrugged. "I don't like using it, though. Mostly because…" He frowned deeply, his eyes turning haunted. His concentration broke and the water fell from his hand, drenching his leg and making him cry out in surprise.  
"Why don't you use it?" Marina asked, raising her hand and flowing the water back into the basin, his leg drying quickly as she took the water back from the cloth. "It's amazing- I've never seen anything like it."  
"I got it from my father." Rynu said bitterly. "He used this magic to kill my mother, and I don't want anything to do with that bastard."  
Marina nodded, understanding now why he had tried so hard to learn another type of magic. "Your magic is part of you, though. " She tried reassuring him.  
"Yeah well, not _this_ magic." Rynu said stubbornly. "I'll just tell Novillo I don't want to learn it."  
"No." Marina said firmly, making Rynu look up in surprise. "You can't run from this, Rynu. You have to learn this magic."  
Rynu frowned unhappily. "I don't want to use it." He insisted.  
"What would you mother want, Rynu?" she argued. "Would she want you to deny your magic or learn to use it and be a better man than your father was? You can't keep running from all your problems."  
Rynu shook his head, baring his teeth in anger. "I can't, though- I've never used it more than a few times."  
"And I hardly ever used water magic before I went to The Keep- it's better if you learn this magic, Rynu. Use it to protect- not to hurt."  
Rynu stared at the ground thoughtfully and glanced up at her with a soft sigh. "Can you write a reply for me?"  
Marina smiled happily and nodded, running over to the desk across the room and taking out a parchment and ink pen.  
"Tell him I'm on my way." Rynu said, shaking his head and gripping fistfuls of his hair nervously. "Gods, I've never done anything like this before…"  
"We're on our way…" Marina said aloud as she wrote.  
"We?" He said, looking up at her and releasing his hair.  
"You didn't think I'd let you go on your own, did you?" She grinned over her shoulder at him wryly.  
"It's dangerous though- this magic is crazy, I have no idea what will happen."  
"Ry- I think you forget I'm a big girl now, I can handle myself."  
Rynu smiled warmly at the use of his childhood nickname. "Alright, stubborn woman. It's not like you'll change your mind no matter what I say."  
"Well I'm glad you're finally learning that." Marina grinned. She stuck the pen in Rynu's hand, giggling when he looked at it blankly. "Sign your name." She said. "Like this-" She took another paper and wrote his name in her own swirling script.  
Rynu looked over at her writing and copied it as best he could, looking down at his work with a frown. "It's messy." He growled in frustration.  
"It'll get better with practice. We should go tell Pheona where we're going first- so we'll stop at Avalon first."  
Rynu nodded as she sealed the paper and called over a Talvar to send it on its way to Novillo.


	93. Chapter 93 Night Terrors

The trip back to Avalon hadn't been very fun for Keisin, Pheona went in and out of consciousness, going through fits of terror and pain and switching from Marlena and back to Pheona. She had stayed in her true self long enough that Keisin had told her what happened. The look in her eyes almost made him wish he hadn't.  
She was asleep for now, though- and peaceful. He looked down at her as they rode on Thiazi, Prism clinging to the unicorn's horn as Russet settled in the hood of his furred robes. He was getting used to being around so many creatures all the time. After being alone in the mountains it had been a bit overwhelming at first, but… he found it nice to have so many people and animals around him.

_We are almost there._ Prism's soft voice said from on top of Thiazi's horn, his cracked wing fluttering for a moment as if he couldn't help it.

"Is there anything we can do to heal you?" Keisin asked the butterfly, hoping the creature wasn't going to be flightless for the rest of his life.

_Do not worry about me. I will ask Amalthea to heal me. Be more concerned with the fact that Pheona has two souls in one body. The mind is not supposed to have that… I am not sure what it will do._

Keisin didn't like the sound of that. The butterfly seemed to know almost everything- always giving advice on things he had no idea even existed. To know that the butterfly was clueless about this was almost as terrifying as when Pheona went into her fits of panic.

Thiazi suddenly let out a loud whinny below him, making him jump in surprise as the stallion snorted. Another answering whinny accompanied by pounding hooves signaled that others were on the way. Lir and Amalthea soon came through the trees, Lir staring at Pheona for a moment in terror before walking slowly up to her and bumping her sleeping body with his snout.

"She's just asleep for now." Keisin said softly, not wanting to wake her up. "Isildre put the soul of his wife in her… somehow. I'm not sure how to fix it."

The unicorn looked up at him with old golden eyes, but filled with dread and confusion. He didn't know either. Well, so much for that plan.

"Alright, let's just… get her inside for now." Keisin said with a deep sigh, Thiazi walking toward the large cabin as Centurion and Alabast watched with concern.

By the time Rynu and Marina arrived at Avalon, it was well passed dark. Pheona would likely be asleep now, and wouldn't want to be bothered… but this was important. She would understand, right?  
Rynu hoped she would as he walked up to the door, raising his hand to knock on the wood before a sharp scream filled the night air, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end at the sound. He had heard too many screams in his life, too many sounds of terror and pain like the one lancing through him now.  
Taking a quick step back he pushed Marina aside before kicking the door clean off its hinges with one of his large leather boots, storming inside, his green eyes glowing with magic.  
"Sssh, Pheona- it's alright!" Keisin said from the room upstairs, trying to tell over Pheona's screams of terror.  
Rynu stormed up the stairs, rushing over to the room and opening the door to see Keisin leaning next to Pheona in bed, her eyes wide with panic as she screamed again.  
"What's going on?" He yelled furiously, looking at Keisin with gritted teeth to keep his anger in check as best he could.  
"It's a long story- she'll calm down eventually- just help me keep her from hurting herself." Keisin struggled against her as one of her arms escaped his grip and flung out to knock against the bed post painfully, her yell just getting louder with the added pain.  
Rynu walked over and secured the arm against her side with a firm but gentle grip, looking over Pheona at Keisin with confusion. "What's going on?" He repeated the question, this time with less anger and more worry.  
"Isildre took her." Keisin gritted out in a pained tone. "I tried to watch her as best I could, but he tricked her- even used my-" He shook his head in frustration. "He tricked her, and took her. Now he's put a spell on her that Isildre's wife is in her body… along with her."  
"Stella!" Pheona screeched in terror. "Someone save her, don't let him take her!"  
Rynu flinched at the tone and looked back to Keisin. "So, sorcerer. Do you have a way to fix this?"  
Keisin shook his head slowly, and Rynu let out a long sigh.  
"I got a letter from Novillo. He wants me to… train my magic." He looked up at Keisin again uneasily. "I may need your help with that."  
"What would you need my help for? I'm not a magi." Keisin said before getting a better grip on Pheona, sighing when she finally settled down.  
"Neither am I." Rynu looked over his shoulder at Marina in the doorway, seeing her horrified expression as a hand covered her mouth. "I'll probably need all of your help. Especially if we're going to have to get that damn sorcerer to change our Pheona back to normal."  
"How are you expecting to convince him to do that?" Keisin gave him a skeptical look.  
"The same way he convinced me to join the Brotherhood." Rynu looked at the sleeping Pheona before looking back at Keisin. "Find his weakness, and hurt him until he gives up."


	94. Chapter 94 Distant Relations

After Pheona had finally gotten settle down, Marina had decided to stay with her for the night. She seemed concerned about the fire magi, not used to seeing her go into any sort of fits like she was having now. He didn't blame her at all… the experience made everyone uneasy.  
Rynu sat with Keisin in the main room of the cabin, Keisin pouring through spell books to try and find a cure for Pheona, Rynu just sitting and watching creatures scurry about Avalon through the window. He had always thought it a bit strange that Pheona had re-built the burned Keep, but now he knew why… it was as much a home as either of them had, and he missed it terribly while he was away. Even though the cabin may not be the same one her parents had built, it still held the memories of them.  
"So, are you ever going to tell me what you mean by that 'I'm not a magi' comment earlier? As far as I know, you're Pheona's cousin- and should be a magi." Keisin gave him a skeptical look over the top of his book.  
"I'm different from Pheona. Her magic is fire, like her father. Mine is… different." Rynu just shrugged, as if that explained things.  
Keisin's quirked eyebrow told him it didn't- and the sorcerer was just even more confused.  
"It's… hard to explain. From what my mother told me, it's called Origin magic." He looked back over to Keisin, running a hand through his hair uneasily. "Before the Great Magi War, the magic that formed both magi and sorcerer magic was the same thing- Origin magic." He pointed to where Keisin's amulet rested against his chest. "Back then people didn't wear amulets or had Keeps or creatures- they were all just the same magic. People started to care for animals and gained some of the beastial magic that mixed with their own- and most only focused on one element, while sorcerers chose to focus on raw power."  
Keisin listened with shock, putting down his book and staring at Rynu. "How did I not know about this? A magic that binds magi and sorcerers together? It sounds… pretty important. Something that would be well known."  
"People still hate sorcerers, right? Why would a magi that hates sorcerers want to be associated with them in any way?"  
Keisin made a grim expression and nodded. Yes… there were certainly quite a few people who would rather see him dead than alive. "Still… how do you have this magic, then? It's hereditary?"  
"From the Etain Desert, and the Black Sands Desert, I guess." Rynu shrugged as if that was a signal that was the end of his knowledge. "All I know is that… I don't like it."  
"Why not? I'd think you'd want to learn all you can about it." Keisin's eyes widened.  
"I… don't have the best experience with it." Rynu said in a dark tone. "The first time I ever used it, I killed my father with it."  
Keisin blinked in shock for a moment before nodding slowly. "I see."  
"After he killed my mother with it." Rynu added, as if explaining his actions.  
Keisin shook his head in sympathy and then looked up again. "Well, one thing I know from my experiences is that it's not the magic that makes the person- it's the person that makes the magic. Isildre and I both have the same magic, but the way we use it determines who we are. Just because your father used it to do something so terrible doesn't mean you should think you'll do the same."  
Rynu chuckled in amusement and nodded. "That's what Novillo's been telling me for years."  
"Well maybe you should listen to the man." Keisin smirked. "Besides, that means you can do more things than I could even imagine doing. Each sorcerer has a specific specialty because there's such a limit on our magic that can be stored in our amulet. You don't have an amulet, so you can do… whatever you want."  
Rynu didn't quite get what he meant, but he nodded. "I have to learn how to use it first, though."  
"That's the easy part." Keisin grinned. "You just have to find someone who can teach you. Lucky for you I'm pretty handy at ice and water magic, so Marina and I can definitely have you covered there. You're naturally good at earth magic, and if Novillo teaches you wind magic, that just leaves…" He glanced up at the room Pheona was sleeping in and his eyes flashed with pain for a minute. "Well, we'll cover that later. Unfortunately I don't know any other sorcerers- but I do know of a few that can turn into dragons like Isildre can."  
"Wait-" Rynu froze in shock. "Are you telling me I can do the same thing he can?"  
"With training, yes I don't see why not." Keisin shrugged. "Though… I'm thinking I'll avoid that lesson." He shifted uneasily in his seat. "I don't care much for dragons myself. Did you say Novillo found you a master in the Etain desert?"  
Rynu nodded. "He wants me to go as soon as possible."  
Keisin glanced up to the room again. "Then you should probably go within the next day or two. Pheona's not going anywhere, and the sooner Isildre can change her back to normal, the better." He looked back at Rynu. "I'm thinking… it might get worse with time. So we might have a limit on how long we have before it becomes… permanent."  
Rynu gulped uneasily. He had to master Origin magic before Pheona turned insane from having two minds in one head. No pressure.  
"I'll stay here and take care of her, and see if I can't find anything that will help her. There has to be [i]something[/i] in my father's books." Keisin looked down at the pages and sighed in dismay. "I hope."  
Rynu leaned over to give Keisin a reassuring pat on the shoulder before leaning back again. "We'll figure something out, Keisin. Neither of us are going to give up on her."  
Keisin looked up and smiled gratefully before returning to his reading.


End file.
